


Acclimation

by Hester_Of_Ravenswood, TheLonelyDraconequus



Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [8]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, No Smut, No enabler, Surprise Pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 74,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23606140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hester_Of_Ravenswood/pseuds/Hester_Of_Ravenswood, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyDraconequus/pseuds/TheLonelyDraconequus
Summary: And I'm back on my *redacted* with some more pollination + rare pairsSide note: As always, no enabler or smut!
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina, Ilia Amitola/Pyrrha Nikos/Sun Wukong, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Neopolitan/Ciel Soleil, Oscar Pine/Whitley Schnee, Penny Polendina/Winter Schnee, Qrow Branwen/Elm Ederne
Series: RWBY, but Pollination Style [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661938
Comments: 271
Kudos: 86





	1. Interruptions

The door slammed open, causing Blake to shoot awake, shocked.

Ruby groaned under the covers, curling up closer to Weiss with her arms wrapped around the other girl's waist.

"Blake, come back to bed," Yang mumbled.

"I _am_ in bed, Yang," Blake said, rubbing at her eyes.

"Then who the heck is at the door?" Weiss grumbled, resting her head against Blake's shoulder.

"Rubes, I swear if you woke me up again," Yang said, eyes still shut as she pulled Blake closer to her.

"You're the one that got up at five in the morning yesterday to pee!" Ruby called from the other side of the bed, eyes still closed.

"Who gets up that early?" Weiss muttered.

"You guys were supposed to be checked out already so I didn't have to come in and see this!" a familiar voice cried, shocking all of them.

Weiss reached down to grab the blanket, pulling it higher over her and her wives.

Sun turned around, shielding his eyes with his hand.

"Sun?!" Blake and Yang asked as one.

"There's a thing called knocking!" Weiss snapped, flushing.

"What are you even doing here?!" Ruby asked, sinking further under the covers.

"Uh, picking you four up? It's time to go! We've got work tomorrow!"

"What?!" Yang asked, sitting up slightly. Blake wisely pulled her back down.

"Figures. It's time to go back to Beacon, and your honeymoon's over. I tried calling you four all last night-and I just realized why that didn't work. Okay. Just... get dressed and meet me outside. We're heading back today!"

"That makes no sense. We just got married like two days ago," Weiss said.

"Weiss, that was a week and a half ago. Have you four even gone outside?!"

A beat of silence.

"Right, stupid question. Just get ready," Sun said.

He left and closed the door behind him.

Weiss groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"That was so embarrassing."

Blake leaned down to kiss Weiss.

"Maybe I can distract you," she said, wrapping her arms around Weiss and pulling hr flush against her.

Yang's hand reached out to bedside table, slapping against the wood until she reached her target. She reached her hand into the water cup, splashing drops at Blake and Weiss.

"Hey, hey! Don't get distracted. I don't want Sun bursting back into the room with you two starting something."

Blake slapped the water cup out of Yang's hand, sighing.

"You're no fun," the faunus said.

"Hey! I'm tons of fun! I showed you that _plenty_ of times! Now get up and get dressed. That means you too, Rubes."

A beat of silence caused Yang to glance over her shoulder at her sister, who was kissing Weiss, leaning over to put her hands on either side of her wife's shoulders and pushing herself up.

"Rubes!" Yang snapped, reaching out to shove her sister off of the former heiress.

"We seriously need to go," Yang said.

Blake leaned up, letting the blanket fall.

"What? You _really_ want to go?" she asked.

Yang looked away.

"Of course I don't! But we have to."

"Fine," Blake said, rolling her eyes as she crawled out of bed to get her things together.

"Too bad," Weiss muttered, accepting Ruby's hand to pull her out of bed.

Ten minutes later, the four newlyweds stepped outside together, fully dressed and their small bags packed.

Sun glanced over, grinning at them.

"Nice to see you again! Fully clothed, I mean, because-"

"Sun, shut up," Yang said, rolling her eyes.

"We're never discussing this again. **Ever** ," Weiss said intensely, staring the monkey faunus down.

"Of course. Wouldn't want to discuss it anyways! Now come on, we've been waiting!" Sun called.

"How long could you have possibly been waiting?" Weiss grumbled.

"A week and a half!" Sun responded, tapping on the side of the airship, causing the hanger door to start opening slowly.

"Get in!"

The four newlyweds glanced at each other and sighed.

How could they forget how insane their friends were?

The cheer that sounded from inside the airship pounded that fact home.

How could they have ever thought their lives would stay as calm as they'd been during their honeymoon when they had _these_ amazing, horrible friends?


	2. Welcoming Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm back! Thanks for not complaining about me taking Easter off, that was really nice! Hope you enjoy the next few chapters!

The enthusiasm in the airship was palpable as friends and family rushed to the four girls.

Penny tackled Ruby in a hug, holding her tightly as the tumbled to the ground.

"SALUTATIONS!" she cried enthusiastically.

Ruby grunted when her back hit the floor, and she looked to Blake and Weiss for help. She wouldn't get any, because Ilia had Blake in a tight hug while Winter and Whitley were trying to greet Weiss in a business-like manner, but were failing. Winter finally gave up and hugged her sister tightly.

"It's so good to see you all again! Did you enjoy the sights?!" Penny asked as she let Ruby get off the ground, though she still held the other girl tightly.

Sun laughed, arm slung around Yang's shoulders.

"Definitely not the ones you're thinking of, Pen."

Ruby flushed while Penny frowned in confusion.

"Did you go somewhere else, Friend Ruby?"

"Oh they didn't _go_ anywhere. They stayed all locked up in their room," Sun said.

"Can you _shut up_?" Yang hissed.

Sun just winked.

"Wouldn't it be boring to spend so long in your room? I was informed that we sent you to a very beautiful section of Menagerie," Penny said. "Did one of you get sick?"

"They didn't get sick, Pen," Ilia said slowly, scales flushing as she looked away from Blake.

Penny opened her mouth to continue, but Ruby slapped a hand over it.

"Looks like someone needs to teach her about the bots and the bees," Coco said, laughing quietly at her own joke. Velvet sighed sufferingly.

Winter was looked _anywhere_ but at her girlfriend, face a bright red.

Penny watched her with concern, gently prying Ruby's hand off of her mouth.

"Girlfriend Winter? Is everything alright?"

"Nope! I do a lot of things for you, Penny, but I'm not doing this," Winter said, putting her hands up in the air as she physically stepped back.

Penny glanced at Ruby, frowning.

"Umm... maybe I'll have Yang explain it to you some other time," Ruby said.

"Why me?!"

"Because dad had you explain it to me."

Yang grimaced.

"I thought we agreed never to talk about that again," Yang said.

Blake and Weiss glanced at each other, shaking their heads in frustration.

 _'If you guys are done making sex jokes, can we get going? We've got a long flight ahead of us,'_ Neo signed.

Penny's eyes widened and she glanced at Ruby, who gave her an awkward smile.

"Oh," was all she said.

"We can leave!" Weiss called, voice cracking just slightly. Whitley snickered and she glared at him.

Neo snickered silently and Ciel rolled her eyes at the former criminal.

"Did you really need to be so crass?" she asked.

Neo nodded.

_'Sometimes, when you ask things like that, I wonder if you even pay attention to me.'_

Ciel laughed quietly, shaking her head.

"Just get us airborne."

_'Look at you barking orders.'_

Ciel sighed while Neo started up the airship, closing the hanger door as they lifted off the ground.

In the back of the airship, the air was alive with excitement and chatter.

"So not only did you give your little sister the talk," Coco was saying, "but you were there for-"

"Can we please not do this?" Yang asked.

Velvet put a hand on Coco's mouth to silence her.

"Of course! Because it would be rude and _crass_ to talk about such things, **right Coco**?"

Coco sighed and nodded, making Velvet smile.

"Good," the rabbit faunus said as she set her head on Coco's shoulder.

Yang gave her a grateful smile.

"So, where are we headed?" Blake asked, desperate to change the subject.

"We're making a stop in Atlas to drop off Whitley, then we're headed straight to Beacon," Ilia responded.

"Good, good," Blake responded, wrapping her arm around Weiss as she sat at her side.

"Thought you four would be sick of each other by now," Pyrrha commented from her place beside Ilia.

"Never!" Ruby called, leaning against Weiss and putting her head against her shoulder.

"I don't know. I think I'm a bit sick of this one," Yang said, patting her sister on the head.

Ruby slapped at her hand, leaning closer to her wife.

"Weissy, save me!" she cried dramatically, shoving her face against her neck.

Weiss squirmed at the close contact.

"Ruby, I thought I told you not to do that!" she hissed.

"And we **also** told you not to put us in the middle of you little sibling squabbles," Blake added.

Ruby and Yang sighed.

"Why did we marry them if not for the them to finally decide which of us is better?" Yang asked.

"I don't know. This one's kinda cuddly," Ruby said as she held Weiss tighter.

Weiss rolled her eyes sufferingly, but a small smile grew on her lips.

"Okay, we need to have a **serious** discussion about PDA," Sun said, gesturing at the four. "I thought I only found it gross because I used to be a seventeenth wheel, but now I realize it just _is_ gross, even when I'm in a relationship."

"Sun, you organized our wedding," Yang said.

"Yeah, so you four would stop being all over each other!" Sun cried.

All four rolled their eyes.

"How about a foot of distance at all times?" Ilia suggested.

"No!" Ruby whined, holding Weiss tighter.

"Six inches?" Pyrrha corrected.

Ruby shook her head.

"You know, you three would have to follow those rules if we did," Yang commented, gesturing at Sun, who was holding Pyrrha loosely around the waist. "You _all_ would."

She looked pointed around the airship. Velvet quickly withdrew her hand from Coco's knee while Winter tried to subtly take her arm away from around Penny's shoulders, but this only made Penny upset, so she stopped. Penny smiled and let her head fall against Winter (which hurt the eldest Schnee sibling, but she'd never let Penny know that). Oscar and Whitley were holding hands and facing each other in the very back of the airship, talking quietly and trying to make up for the time they were going to be apart while Oscar went to school.

"Never mind," Sun said. "But at least try to keep it PG. We've got under educated robots in here."

Ruby laughed awkwardly, reaching a hand to rub the back of her neck. "Of course, of course!"

In the front of the airship, Neo silently snickered, reaching her hand out to grab Ciel and tugging her closer.

_'Why don't you want to sit with me, Gorgeous?'_

"Because you're easily distracted and I don't want you to crash the airship."

_'How many times have I crashed?'_

"You've almost crashed this very airship ten times."

_' **Almost** being the operative word. And right now I'm distracted by trying to convince you to sit with me.' _

Ciel sighed and stalked over, sitting with Neo between her legs.

The former criminal grinned and set her head on Ciel's shoulder lovingly.

"You're so needy. Who would have thought a master criminal would need constant looking after?"

Neo just pushed her head into the crook of Ciel's neck.

_'Maybe you should date a **real** criminal then instead of an ex-criminal.'_

Ciel glanced back to see a slightly pouty expression on Neo's face.

"And pouty too?" she rolled her eyes sufferingly. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you for a real criminal. You're already almost too much to handle."

_'I'll hold you to that, Gorgeous.'_

"See that you do."

In the back of the airship, Winter made a quiet sound of disgust.

"Maybe we should have a PDA rule."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys all know the "TIMMY?!" audio, right? "Have you seen my son? He's about this tall, clearly gay but we haven't had the talk yet!"
> 
> Yeah, that one. Anyways, which member of team RWBY is that as a parent? No wrong answers obviously.


	3. Advice

Weiss and Winter pointedly looked away from the hanger door. They'd already said their goodbyes to their brother, and now his boyfriend was doing the same, but in a far more intimate way.

"Can they stop that?" Weiss said, grimacing.

Outside, Whitley reached his hands up to play with the hem of Oscar's shirt, reaching under.

"Hey, hey! Stop that!" Winter called, clapping her hands loudly in frustration.

Whitley pulled back far enough to glare at his sister, waving her off.

Winter rolled her eyes.

"This is disgusting."

"You didn't even have to listen to talk about your sister's honeymoon," Winter muttered.

Weiss flushed.

"That's not relevant."

"It's entirely relevant, considering I threw up in mouth a little bit more than five times."

"I'm sorry, but that's definitely not my fault," Weiss said.

Winter sighed quietly in frustration, but didn't press the matter.

Outside, Oscar and Whitley finally pulled apart for good, Oscar giggling as he ran a hand through Whitley's messed up hair to fix it.

"Sorry," Oscar said. Whitley huffed, shaking his head as he reached forward to fix Oscar's shirt for him.

"It's fine."

"I'm going to miss you," Oscar whispered.

Whitley flushed, smiling at him.

"Me too," he whispered.

"There is it! That's the look!" Yang hissed from inside. Weiss slapped her arm. 

"Bye!" Oscar called as Whitley hurried toward the house.

Whitley waved over his shoulder as he opened the gate, rushing inside.

Oscar sighed before he slowly walked back onto the airship.

"It'll be alright, Romeo. I bet he's already planning his next text to you," Sun said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"And you're going to learn how to _fight_!" Ruby cried excitedly. "Going to Beacon was so much fun!"

"Because that's where you met your wives?" Nora asked.

"No!" Blake and Weiss glanced at Ruby, and she backtracked. "I mean, yes, but that's not the only reason! Beacon was fun! We learned how to fight, we fought bad guys together, we bonded as a team, we... okay, mostly because that's where I met Blake and Weiss, but also no! It would have been fun anyways, but... it was better because of them."

Oscar rolled his eyes.

"I had fun at my school, and I didn't even meet my girlfriends there," Sun said. "And yeah, your teammates are what make it special, but you don't have to fall in love with any of them to have a good time."

"I don't know. Most of my good memories are with those two," Yang said, gesturing vaguely at Blake and Weiss.

"Our team's pretty awesome," Nora said.

"You're dating two of them," Pyrrha commented.

"So are you!" Nora cried.

Pyrrha considered for a moment before nodding. She really couldn't argue.

"Yeah, well, I'm definitely not going to be dating any of mine. Is there anyone here who _isn't_ in a relationship with a teammate?" Oscar asked.

Only two hands raised. Fox and Yatsu.

"Chances are, you're going to have to deal with romance troubles from your teammates. At least two of them are going to start dating," Fox said.

Oscar nodded sagely.

"And they're going to be gross about it, but you're already used to that, what with these people," Fox gestured at the airship, "but on the bright side, you'll have some friends for life."

Coco and Velvet smiled at him.

"Even if they're annoying. Well, I guess I wouldn't call them _friends_. More like family. You're stuck with 'em, and you love 'em, but you don't always get along."

Coco flipped him off and Velvet slapped her hand.

"See? She **knows** I can't see that middle finger, and yet she flips me off anyways. If that's not family, then I don't know what is."

Oscar chuckled quietly, shaking his head at the pair.

"Any advice on how to pick a partner?"

"Let them pick you," Jaune said.

"Plan ahead of time!" Nora chimed in, grabbing Ren's hand and squeezing it lightly.

"Fine someone nice and protect them," Pyrrha said. Jaune grumbled.

"In my experience, it's really hard to find the one you're looking for. Just go with the flow," Yang said.

"Do **not** go with the flow. You could get a bad partner. Pick someone you think seems trustworthy," Blake instructed.

"Awww!" Yang said, grabbing Blake and pulling her closer. "You picked me!"

Blake flushed, leaning back into the embrace and holding Yang's hand around her stomach.

"I agree with Yang. Just go with the flow. You might not like your partner immediately, but they'll grow on you," Weiss said.

Ruby giggled, putting her hands around Weiss' waist. She flushed as Ruby leaned in closer.

"I grew on you! That's so sweet!"

"We're married," Weiss pointed out.

"Still," Ruby said.

She turned to face Oscar, smiling gently.

"Weiss is totally right! Your partner might seem a bit mean... and shallow... and they might call you names and you might blow up once or twice, but you'll definitely get closer with them!" Ruby said.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Come on, I wasn't **that** bad."

Blake and Yang glanced at her.

"Angel, we love you with all our hearts," Blake said.

"But you were a pain in the ass," Yang finished for her.

"And slightly racist," Ruby added.

Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Alright, alright! I get it!"

"But you're not anymore!" Ruby quickly added.

Blake and Yang nodded in agreement.

"Now you're not just **a** pain in the ass, you're **our** pain in the ass," Yang said.

Blake slapped her arm.

"What Yang's **trying** to say, is that you've gotten much better, Weiss, and we love you... but you're a pain sometimes."

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Like you're much better, Mrs. I-drool-over-tuna. And don't forget Yang who can't go ten seconds without some sort of pun."

Ruby giggled while the other two rolled their eyes.

"And don't get me started on that sugar addiction of yours."

"So she likes sweet things. She married you, after all. Is it that much of a surprise?" Blake said.

"Stop it with the flirting! You're making me look bad!" Yang cried.

"Just because you can't compete?" Ruby asked.

Yang opened her mouth to deny it, but Oscar held up his hands.

"Hey! This is about helping me get ready for my first day at school! Stop being all adorable and disgusting!"

"Right, right. Sorry," Blake said, tilting her mouth away from Weiss and making the former heiress huff in frustration.

"Tease," Weiss muttered. Blake rolled her eyes.

"Just go with the flow," Yang reiterated.

"Do **not** go with the flow," Nora argued, "pick beforehand."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so go with the flow but have the flow planned," Oscar said sarcastically.

"Precisely!" Nora chimed in.

He rolled his eyes.

"You guys are no help, you know that?"

"Yeah," Jaune said.

Oscar huffed.

"Just... do what feels natural. You'll know what to do when the time comes," Blake said.

"And if you don't, it'll still end up alright," Weiss said.

"Better than alright!" Ruby continued, coming up behind Weiss and wrapping her arms around Weiss' waist, hands resting on Blake's hips.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Just listen to Blake. She's, like, the only one of us with more than one brain cell," Yang said.

"Uh, excuse you," Nora said.

"Yeah!" Jaune agreed.

"Pyrrha's got some!" Nora cried, and Jaune nodded his head in agreement.

Pyrrha chuckled at the pair, glancing at Blake.

"The typical adult human has over one hundred billion brain cells," Penny said suddenly.

"That's not what they're talking about, babe," Winter whispered, and Penny frowned.

Neo snapped from the front of the airship to get their attention, then pointed down at her girlfriend.

"Right! Ciel! She's pretty smart... except she did kind of fall in love with a criminal."

Ciel rolled her eyes and Neo glared at Yang.

 _'For your information,'_ Ciel grabbed the controls to the airship, _'Ciel is incredibly smart! I;m just incredibly charming, because, unlike you, I can flirt.'_

Yang glared at her.

"Hey! I can flirt!"

"We've been over this," Weiss said sufferingly.

"Neo, pilot the damn airship. And my advice, based off of my personal experiences, is that you need to wait until the headmaster picks you and says 'this is your new partner. She's very special and fragile, so please guard her with your life' and you do as he says. Who knows, maybe you'll end up like me and get a best friend."

Penny made a strangled sound of excitement before she darted to the front of the plane.

"Friend Ciel! You're so sweet!" she said in excitement, grabbing Ciel in a tight hug and almost causing the airship to crash. When Neo had straightened the airship, Ciel finally got herself out of the hug, giving Penny a small smile.

Oscar rolled his eyes and fell against a seat in frustration.

"None of you were **any** help."

"We do try," Yang said.

"Not hard enough, apparently," Oscar muttered.


	4. Arrival

The airship touched down, and Neo slapped her hand against the button to open the hanger.

Ciel went to get up, and Neo sighed dramatically, albeit silently.

Ciel glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow.

"What's your problem now?"

Neo looked up at her with her best imitation of the childish pout that she'd seen Ruby give Blake and Weiss to make them do what she wanted.

She held up her hands, and Ciel huffed in frustration, taking both hands in her own and pulling Neo to her feet.

"You're real lucky I love you," Ciel muttered.

_'I know. I think that every day.'_

"And you're even luckier that you've got a bit of charm in you."

_'I was just born like that.'_

"Ah, yes, I can just imagine you as a baby. Popped right out and started flirting with the nurse."

_'Yeah. Too bad she didn't know sign language though.'_

"Why is it that all of the good ones don't?" Ciel asked, leading Neo toward the exit of the airship.

_'Not **all** of them, clearly.'_

"You better not be talking about yourself."

_'You know there's exactly two things I love to talk about. Myself and you. And I certainly don't consider myself to be one of the good ones.'_

Ciel rolled her eyes at Neo as they rejoined the rest of their mismatched group.

"Took you two long enough," Coco muttered, rolling her eyes.

_'What can I say? Ciel's **very** distracting.'_

"And you're **very** gross," Coco commented.

Neo winked at her.

"Careful. Ciel might get jealous."

"You can have her," Ciel said, waving a hand indifferently.

Neo huffed, crossing her arms petulantly. Ciel rolled her eyes again.

The large group stepped through the front doors of Beacon, looking around.

"Wow. This place really does look exactly like it did when we rebuilt it," Yang commented.

"Except for the little brats running around," Coco muttered, watching a large cluster of children that migrated like a herd through the halls.

"You used to be one of those little brats," Fox said.

"Correction: I'm _still_ a brat, I'm just not so little anymore. And I was **never** this poorly dressed," Coco said.

Velvet rolled her eyes, grabbing Coco's hand.

"Yes, yes, we're all aware that you're a brat. Now can you stop insulting children?"

"I don't know, I might need some distraction," Coco said.

Velvet blushed.

"This... isn't the time."

"Later then?"

"Please let it be when I'm not in the room," Fox muttered.

A tall, familiar figure stalked down the hall toward the group.

"Nice of you all to finally get here. I need you watching the students and the perimeter to make sure that no fights break out, Grimm or otherwise," Glynda said, one hand on her weapon and the other on her hip.

"Yes, ma'am!" Sun said excitedly, saluting her.

She looked at him with a level stare, clearly unamused by his shenanigans.

"I'll keep an eye on him, headmistress," Pyrrha said, grabbing Sun by the arm.

"See that you do," Glynda said.

She stalked away and Ruby took the lead.

"Team JNIPRS, watch the perimeter. Team PWNC, take the entryway. Team CFVY, West side. Team RWBY, we're taking the East side!" Ruby said excitedly.

A chorus of agreements rang out amongst the group and they split into teams.

Ruby grabbed Weiss by the hand and started to tug her down the hall.

"Ruby, we're at work now," Weiss hissed.

Ruby frowned and pulled her hand away with a sad smile.

Blake slipped her hand into Ruby's, smirking.

"I'm not against PDA."

Ruby grinned and Weiss glared at Blake, who stuck her tongue out at the former heiress.

"I'm not against PDA! I just think that we should be professional at our **job**!" Weiss said, throwing her hands into the air.

Blake snickered to herself as Weiss continued to glare at them.

Ruby happily walked down the hallway, swinging her hand back and forth with Blake's intertwined with it.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Fine! Whatever!"

She shoved Blake away from Ruby, albeit gently, and took Ruby's hand.

Blake grinned at Ruby's excited expression, causing Yang to glance at her.

"Did you just do that on purpose?" Yang asked.

Blake held a finger to her lips.

"You're a manipulative little thing, aren't you?" Yang said.

Blake rolled her eyes.

"If you can't manipulate your wives, then who can you manipulate, Yang?"

-

"Why are we stuck with perimeter?" Nora asked sullenly, kicking a loose rock with her foot.

"Probably because you'd scare children with your giant hammer, sweetie," Jaune replied.

"If they're scared of my hammer, then they really shouldn't be going to school at Beacon, Jauney!"

Jaune rolled his eyes.

"I was scared of it! I'm **still** scared of the idea that you have a weapon!" Jaune replied.

Nora rolled her eyes.

"That's just because you like your kneecaps so much."

"I like my kneecaps the normal amount! I just don't want you **breaking** them!"

"That's the trick, though! You don't just break kneecaps, you need to _take_ them! It sends a message and that way you never have to break them a second time!" Nora replied.

"How do you **take** someone's kneecaps?!" Sun asked.

Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.

"It's better not to ask."

-

Penny looked around the entry hall with intensity, watching students as they entered or passed by.

"Babe, you're creeping them out," Winter whispered.

Penny frowned.

"How so, Girlfriend Winter?"

"You are staring pretty intently," Ciel remarked.

"And that... creeps people out?" Penny asked, the words sounding awkward as she repeated them.

"Very much so," Winter said, nodding.

Penny took a moment to consider, glancing at her girlfriend. She copied Winter's body language, folding her arms behind her back and standing up straight, watching the area around her with an air of disinterest, yet sternness.

"That... was horrifying to watch," Ciel remarked.

"That... was admittedly disconcerting," Winter agreed slowly.

Neo huffed silently, rolling her eyes and leaning against the wall.

Ciel glanced at her girlfriend and rolled her eyes.

"Is this still about my comment to Coco?" she whispered.

Neo didn't acknowledge her.

"You know I was joking."

Neo continued to look straight ahead, not giving any indication that she had heard Ciel.

Ciel huffed, rolling her eyes. She soon adopted a very strict posture as well, watching students and not glancing at Neo (well, not _too_ often. She refused to acknowledge that she had been a tad bit too rude when she had told Coco that she could have Neo).

After a few moments of uncharacteristic silence from team PWNC, a student sauntered up to the group.

He was tall, at least in comparison to Neo and Ciel (which honestly wasn't saying much), and had his hair purposefully messy in a way that had obviously taken him no less than an hour. He had a smarmy smirk on his face as he leaned against the wall in front of Neo.

Ciel glanced at him, frowning as her eyes flickered up and down his body, narrowing.

"What's a nice girl like you doing in a dump like this?" he asked.

Ciel glanced at her girlfriend, waiting for her girlfriend to respond like she always did (a swift kick to the unmentionables and a silent, evil cackle).

But instead, Neo just let out a silent giggle and hooked a piece of hair over her ear.

The boy, the student Ciel realized, took that as an opportunity and leaned down further so that he was closer to Neo.

"Excuse me, but I really must insist that you take a step back," Ciel said, though her tone was anything but civil.

The boy glanced her way, frowning.

"What? She needs you to speak for her? She's her own person, she can do it herself."

Ciel was about to inform him that Neo, in fact, could **not** speak for herself, but froze when she saw a familiar sultry smirk on her girlfriend's face. Neo reached up to play with the student's tie, and Ciel's hand shot forward, grabbing Neo by the wrist.

She glared at the student, pulling Neo closer to herself and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"She's spoken for. Now, if you'd so kindly walk back to the rest of your group of wandering nimrods, that would be greatly appreciated," Ciel said tersely. Her grip tightened around Neo, and she pulled her closer.

Neo smirked, waving at the student dismissively. He frowned in confusion.

"If you ever decide you need a man, then you know where to find me."

Neo flipped him off, turning her attention to Ciel.

_'So not just **anyone** can have me? Just Coco? Or maybe other friends of yours?'_

"It was just a joke, Neo. Dust, is that why you did that?"

_'You didn't answer my question.'_

Ciel growled.

"Fine! Nobody but me can have you! Is that what you wanted to hear?!" Ciel hissed.

Neo grinned, nodding.

_'Precisely! Thanks, Gorgeous.'_

She leaned forward and gave Ciel a quick kiss before pulling away to watch the students passing by.

Ciel rolled her eyes, but she kept one hand on her girlfriend's waist possessively.

Neo seemed perfectly fine with that, leaning against her with a self satisfied smirk that made Ciel sigh.

-

"I kind of feel discriminated against," Fox said.

"Dust, what is it now?" Coco asked sufferingly.

"We were told to **watch** the hall. How in the world am I supposed to do that?!" Fox cried.

Coco let out a prolonged sigh.

"Fox, just be quiet for once in your life."

-

Oscar looked at team PWNC with a hopeful expression.

"Nope. I'm not helping my little brother's boyfriend through his first day at Beacon. This is all on you. I saw what you did earlier with him. You're dead to me," Winter said.

Oscar sighed, hanging his head as he walked into the main hall.


	5. The Job

Glynda stood in front of the large group, eyeing them all up and down. The only member of their party missing was Oscar, and he was in the large room set up for the first years. The second year students were already up in their own dorm rooms in the East hall, and it was odd for the former Beacon students to imagine themselves as technically second years after everything had happened. But, team RWBY and JNPR supposed, not everyone could become Huntsmen and Huntresses because of General Ironwood's uncharacteristic kindness (which may or may not be because the two deities that created their world had forced him to forget their mistakes, but the group had made a pact never to discuss that again.

"You all did adequate today, though tomorrow might be another story. Because almost all of the staff from last school year has either retired or quit due to the mass Grimm invasion, you all will be needed to fill in various different roles," Glynda said formally.

"Like what?" Ruby asked.

"Teaching, sparring, security, counseling if need be. Anything that might arise."

"Wait, we're _teaching_?" Blake asked, eyes wide.

"Yes. What did you expect, Ms. Belladonna? We don't need this much," Glynda gestured at the large group, "security for one school."

Blake nodded numbly, but Ruby frowned.

"That's not her name," she said.

Glynda frowned in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Rose? What are you referring to?"

"She's not Ms. Belladonna anymore," Ruby elaborated, making Yang grin.

There was a collective sigh from their friends.

"Yeah!" Yang agreed.

"Do we have to do this here?" Weiss hissed.

Ruby pointed at her locket for emphasis, and Weiss sighed.

"Fine, go ahead," she muttered.

Ruby grinned in excitement.

"Then what's her name, Ms. Rose?" Glynda asked, legitimately lost.

"Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee!" Ruby said enthusiastically.

Glynda blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, yeah, team RWBY got married, they're all Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee now," Nora said, waving her hand as if to dismiss the wedding, "they won't stop talking about it."

Glynda stared at them for a long moment before a small smile spread across her face, though it looked almost forced.

"That's... very good for you four. Congratulations."

"Thanks!" Ruby said happily, bouncing up and down on the tips of her toes.

Weiss shook her head sufferingly.

"As I was saying, you'll all be needed to fill in for these spots. Although," Glynda glanced at Neo, "some of you will be used for security."

Neo smiled sweetly at her, leaning against her parasol in the way she always did when pretending to be innocent..

_'What? Little miss double Maiden doesn't have anything to teach students?'_

"What did she say?" Glynda asked.

Penny happily translated, and Glynda glanced at the former criminal, who winked at her.

"Right... yes, well, perhaps your rather... unique powers could be utilized in some way... though you'll definitely be on security."

Neo continued to smile up at her innocently, and Glynda looked away, seeming almost unnerved.

"Stop scaring people," Ciel hissed.

_'It's not my fault I'm intimidating, Gorgeous.'_

Ciel held in a sigh.

"But you want _us_ to teach?" Blake asked. She glanced at Yang and Nora, who were once again having an arm wrestling match in the back of the group, clearly thinking they were being subtle enough to not get caught.

"And sparring instructors, yes."

"Couldn't there be someone a bit more... qualified?" Pyrrha asked.

"In the world? Undoubtedly yes. That is willing to work here? Undoubtedly _no_."

"Why did everyone quit?" Blake asked.

"Oh! Is it haunted?! I hope it's haunted!" Nora chimed in from the back excitedly.

Jaune held his temple between his fingers.

"Nora, you lived here for a year. You _know_ it's not haunted."

"Yeah, but there's been a lot of stuff that's happened since! Not all hauntings are old! People can die at any time and start haunting you!" Nora cried.

"That... makes a surprising amount of sense for her," Ren relented.

"She's talking about ghosts!" Jaune cried.

"And you met the creators of the universe! Ghosts could be real!" Nora cried.

Jaune couldn't find any arguement.

"Ms-excuse my slip of the tongue. _Mrs._ Belladonna-Schnee, the majority of our faculty were retired Huntsmen and Huntresses that quit after the fall because they have families now and don't want to put themselves at risk, which is why they stopped being Huntsmen and Huntresses in the first place," Glynda said.

"I see," Blake said, smiling as Ruby excitedly bounced up and down at Glynda's correction.

Weiss put a hand on Ruby's shoulder to calm her down.

"Tomorrow will be when the students get grouped into their teams and partners. Until then, I'll need a few of you guarding the perimeter, and the rest of you can mingle with your new students as well as... old friends," Glynda said.

"That's right! We'll be teaching our old classmates!" Nora cried excitedly.

Jaune grimaced.

"We'll be at your side," Ren said, putting a hand on his boyfriend's shoudler.

"And so will my hammer!" Nora cried excitedly. "I've been looking forward to getting new kneecaps for my collection.

"No threatening or harming students," Glynda said quickly, eyeing Nora narrowly.

"What?! Then how do we make them behave!" Nora cried.

"Detention? Good old fashion fear? I'm sure you'll figure it out," Glynda said as she turned to walk down the hallway.

Nora pouted.

"Now what am I gonna do if someone bullies cute boy Os?" she asked.

"Put them in detention?" Ren suggested.

"I _wanted_ to be able to put them six feet under."

"You **do** realize that these are children, right?" Sun asked.

"Mean children that might bully Os," Nora muttered, kicking at the ground sullenly.

"Right. My apologies," Sun said sarcastically.

"That's alright!" Nora said, clearly oblivous.

Ilia and Pyrrha chuckled, shaking their heads at their boyfriend.

Sun found himself joining in, tail wagging happily behind him as he followed the large group toward the common first year area.

Neo grabbed Ciel by the hand and tugged her outside toward the exit.

"That's a good idea, Neo. Team PWNC, you can guard the perimeter tonight," Ruby said.

Neo gave her an elaborate bow, making Ruby laugh, and then darted outside, tugging Ciel with her. Penny seemed to catch Neo's contagious enthusiasm and grabbed her girlfriend by the hand, pulling Winter as well.

Winter found herself distantly disappointed that she couldn't embarrass Oscar, but she supposed that she'd have the chance to do that for the rest of the school year.

The rest of the group lazily walked through the halls, memories swimming in many of their minds.

"You know, I think we're going to go catch up with some friends," Coco said, grabbing Velvet's hand and gesturing for Fox and Yatsu to follow her.

The four headed off toward the East halls, leaving teams RWBY and JNIPRS to step into the holding room for the first years.

"Maybe I should go get ready for bed. We're in the West halls, right?" Ilia said.

Pyrrha frowned in confusion.

"Don't you want to meet the students?" she asked.

Ilia shrugged awkwardly, scales coloring.

"I'm... not so sure about that. I'm not very good with kids. Or people. You know that, babe."

"Oh, come on! They'll love you! Plus, that's why you have me, right?!" Sun said, throwing an arm around her shoulders and his tail around her waist. "Now come on! We've got some students to meet.


	6. Embarrassing Oscar

The two teams entered the common room, drawing lots of looks from the surrounding first years. Not only did they look slightly older (well, except Ruby), but they also traveled in a pack that seemed uncharacteristically self assured in a new environment.

Nora's eyes scanned the room before she gasped in excitement.

"Ozzy!" she cried, racing toward her friend.

Oscar's eyes widened as he looked at the two teams and he shook his head wildly, gesturing for them to leave.

Not even Pyrrha and Blake, typically the most respectful of the group, seemed deterred as they headed toward the student, albeit at a slower pace than Nora.

Nora skidded to a stop in front of Oscar, grinning in excitement.

"Nora, I'm kind of busy-"

The girl sitting beside Oscar glanced between him and Nora in confusion.

"Don't worry, Ozzy! We're not going anywhere! We'll be here everyday for you! And I can pack your lunch... Ren can pack your lunch! And we'll make sure that your team is-"

Oscar desperately looked to Nora's boyfriends. Ren reached up to cover her mouth with his hand.

"I'm sorry... Oscar, is that your mother?" the girl beside him, a Rachel, asked.

Nora ripped Ren's hand off of her mouth.

"Yes!"

"No!" Oscar cried.

"I'm definitely his mother!" Nora said excitedly.

"She is _not_ ," Jaune clarified.

"She just thinks she is," Ren added.

"And acts like it," Ilia commented.

Nora grinned down at Oscar, ruffling his hair.

"Are you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?" Nora asked.

Oscar's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"Nora, you **_know_** my boyfriend!" Oscar snapped.

He turned to Rachel, eyes nervous.

"I'm _really_ sorry about them."

Rachel just laughed, shaking her head.

"It's alright. I've got a few siblings of my own."

"They're not my siblings," Oscar clarified.

"But they act like it?"

"Heck yeah! And who knows? You might be team RWBY's brother-in-law one day!" Nora said, elbowing Oscar with a smirk.

He flushed darkly, glaring at her.

Ruby gasped in excitement.

"That would be so awesome! But awkward considering you used to like m-"

"NOT ANYMORE!" Oscar cried, shaking his head.

"Great! I guess it wouldn't be that awkward then!" Ruby continued, clapping her hands.

"So are you all students then? Second years?" Rachel asked.

"Nope!" Nora said.

"They... sort of work here now," Oscar said sufferingly.

"Sort of?! We're **teachers** now, Ozzy!" Nora said.

"They're letting you _teach_?!" he cried.

"Yup! We're gonna do _great_!"

"Do you even know how to teach?!" Oscar asked.

"Don't was your teachers like that!" Nora snapped.

Oscar looked at her levelly.

"I once watched you try to drink out of a cup backwards and spill Blake's tea on yourself."

"Yes, and I learned from that. I'm very worldly," Nora said, waving her hand dismissively.

"That was a sad day," Jaune said.

"She screamed almost as high pitched as you," Ilia said, elbowing Jaune in the ribs.

Pyrrha snickered and her partner looked at her with betrayal in his eyes.

"You're the teachers?" Rachel asked.

"Well, not all of them," Blake said, "there's more of us."

"But... you look our age!" Rachel said in disbelief.

"Hey! You show them some respect! They saved the world!" Sun cried.

"They... what?" Rachel asked.

"Hey yeah! We **did** save the world!" Nora said with wide eyes.

"But it's a very long story," Oscar said.

"And you played a pivotal part in it!" Sun said happily, clapping a hand on Oscar's shoulder.

Oscar let out a silent sigh.

"Are you all messing with me?" Rachel asked.

"Ask the headmistress! She's very serious, and she'll tell you we're telling the truth! And she doesn't even joke!" Nora said.

"Can we please change the subject?" Oscar said.

"Back to your past crush on my sister?" Yang asked.

"Or your current one on my brother?" Weiss asked.

"Something other than that," Oscar said desperately.

"Why can't we talk about anything interesting?!" Nora cried.

"Because interesting to you is embarrassing to me!" Oscar hissed.

"Okay...," Nora took a moment to consider before her eyes lit up in excitement. "Listen up, Rakel."

"Rachel."

"Rachel, if you hurt this precious little boy in any way imaginable, then I'm going to hunt you down and... I can't technically threaten you with physical harm, but I'll give you the detention of your life! As my boyfriend's sister once said, I'm not good at much, I'm one of the most annoying people on this planet, and I'll make the rest of your life one giant annoyance!" Nora said enthusiastically.

Rachel watched her warily, glancing at Oscar.

"Please just ignore them," he said.

"Aren't they our teachers?" Rachel asked.

"Unfortunately."

Rachel let out a quiet laugh.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure not to hurt your little brother, Ms..."

"Valkyrie! Ms. Valkyrie!"

"I won't hurt him, Ms. Valkyrie."

"Good! I'll hold you to that! And so will our entire group," Nora leaned down to whisper to Rachel and Oscar. "And just between us, I'm good friends with Neopolitan. My boyfriend has a favor with her that he hasn't cashed in, and she's definitely not above making it so that you never see the light of day again."

Rachel's eyes widened.

"Neopolitan will not, I repeat, will **not** hurt you. She's turning over a new leaf! Mostly... Her girlfriend won't let her anyways."

"So you actually know _the_ Neopolitan?" Rachel asked.

"Know her?! She's a close family friend! And, if everything goes according to plan, a future sister-in-law to _someone_ here. Ciel and Penny are sisters, right?"

"Nora, you _know_ that Penny's a robot," Jaune said.

"And Ciel's not?"

"No," Ren said.

"Drat. But that's not important! She's still a close family friend! A family member! Something like that!" Nora said.

"I'm going to lead her away now," Sun said.

"That would probably be best," Oscar responded.

"Bye!" Ruby said quietly as she followed Nora, who was being dragged away by Pyrrha and Sun.

There was an awkward moment of silence.

"So... that just happened," Rachel said.

Oscar laughed nervously.

"If any of that was a lie, you're losing a friend, Ozzy boy."

Oscar stared at her.

"A friend?"

"Me, ya idiot," Rachel said, bumping her shoulder against his own.

Oscar grinned.

"Don't call me that by the way."

"Idiot?"

"No, that's fine. Don't call me Ozzy."

"You let her do it."

"Because she's a terrifying pseudo-sister of mine that wields a hammer taller than she is."

"Fair point."

-

"I think that went great!" Nora said happily.

Everyone stared at her.


	7. Meeting the Team

The night went by quickly, Nora watching through a window and smiling to herself when Rachel and Oscar fell asleep side by side in their sleeping bags, and before they knew it, it was morning.

Oscar clambered to his feet, eyes bleary from tiredness.

"Looks like _someone_ isn't a morning person," Rachel said, reaching down. Oscar took her head and she pulled him to his feet with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks," he muttered, shaking his head and yawning.

Rachel laughed, shaking her head.

"So how are those friends of yours?" she asked.

"Why would I know?" Oscar responded.

"Because I'm pretty sure the weird one-Ms. Valkyrie, I mean, watched you sleep."

"Oh yeah I think she does that."

"Plus, they're waiting for you outside."

Oscar looked up and saw Velvet looking around the corner. He glared at her, and she gave him an awkward wave before retreating.

"I'm _really_ sorry about them. I get it if you don't want to hang out with me or something," Oscar said.

"Are you kidding? You guys seem awesome!"

Oscar grinned at her.

"Great! Hey, maybe you and I'll be partners."

Rachel smiled.

"That'd be great, Ozzy boy."

"Please, _please_ , don't call me that."

"I'll consider it."

-

Nora snuck back to her teammates.

"We _need_ to make sure those two are partners!" she said.

"Oscar and Rachel?" Pyrrha asked, not looking up from her card game against Ilia (which she was winning).

"Of course! Who else would I be talking about?!"

"I don't know, Oscar and one of the hundred other first year students?" Ilia commented.

Nora rolled her eyes.

"This is neither the time nor place for a math lesson."

"I mean.. it kind of _is_ a school," Sun said.

"Or geology!"

"I think she means geography," Ren said.

Nora nodded emphatically.

Sun sighed, standing and popping his neck.

"Alright! Let's go make sure that our child friend gets the right partner for this school year, because there's nothing that could possibly be more important!"

Nora grinned in excitement, grabbing Ren and Jaune by their hands and tugging them outside. Sun glanced at his girlfriends with a wide smile.

"Come on, it'll be romantic!"

"How?" Ilia asked.

"You'll never know if you just sit there and play cards!" Sun pointed out excitedly.

Ilia chuckled, shaking her head at her boyfriend before standing and trailing after the rest of her team, Pyrrha at her side.

-

Oscar's initiation seemed rather... odd? There were plenty of Grimm, but they all seemed to come from one direction, herding him toward the East. He didn't know if that was intentional or-

He caught sight of light glinting off of a familiar weapon.

Nora.

He held in a groan of frustration, turning to call out to her and her teammates to quit whatever they were doing, but he ran right into-

"Rachel?" he asked in surprise.

She grinned at him, purposefully making eye contact.

"Ozzy boy!"

He held in a sigh.

"Is it just me, or do these Grimm seem really weird?" she asked him, glancing around.

"Really? You think they're acting weird?" he forced a laugh. "I hadn't noticed."

"Did your friends make sure we got paired up."

A beat of silence.

"I think so."

"They're sweet, if annoying."

"My thoughts exactly."

"I'm glad they did it, though! I think I saw the relics earlier, come on!" Rachel reached out to grab his hand and tugged him through the woods.

Oscar had no choice to follow, though he sent a dark glare over his shoulder at where he could _see_ Jaune's feet.

He heard Nora let out a quiet chiding at her boyfriend's carelessness and he shook his head sufferingly.

The rest of the morning passed quickly, and he was excited to have his partnership with Rachel set in stone, even if it was because of his rather annoying friends.

-

Glynda stood at the front of the common room full of first years on stage, looking down at them all seriously. She was announcing teams, which was certainly not a task to take lightly. After all, four teammates from this school had recently gotten _married_ , so that undoubtedly said something about the depths of bonds formed here.

"And team ORIN, composed of Oscar Pine, Rachel Fern, Ivy Hanson, and Natalie Vine will be led by Oscar Pine."

Oscar went pale, eyes wide.

"Seriously?" he muttered to himself. Not only was he friends with almost every member of the faculty, but he'd saved the world (twice, last he counted), and he was **also** a team leader?!

Rachel laughed, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Congrats, Ozzy boy!"

Oscar sighed.

And how could he forget _that_ little nickname that he doubted Rachel would **ever** let go.

From behind the stage, he saw his large group of friends giving him thumbs up and wild cheering that seemed to dwarf that of his peers and classmates.

He waved at them awkwardly, and Nora smiled up at him like a proud mother, making him sigh.

As Oscar walked back toward their seats, a tall boy with purposefully messy brown clapped him on the shoulder.

"No way, man! You've got three _hot_ girls on your team! How'd you pull that off?! Which one you gonna hit first?" he said.

Oscar's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"What?! I didn't-I mean-this was an accident! Not that it's bad, but... it's definitely just a coincidence. And I am **not** going to be...," Oscar grimaced, "'hitting' any of them because I'm in a **very** committed relationship with someone whose sisters would kill me five times over before I could ever think of cheating."

The boy didn't seem to notice Oscar's reply, but Rachel laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him away. His other teammates, Ivy and Natalie, seemed to like what he'd said, considering they both gave him small smiles.

The rest of the assembly went unbearably slow, so to pass the time, Rachel came up with a fun little game.

"Okay, since we're going to be stuck spending the next three years of our lives together, how about we tell each other about ourselves? Ozzy boy, I **know** you've got some awesome stuff to share with the group. Like that **very** committed boyfriend of yours?" Rachel raised her eyebrows suggestively, elbowing him in the ribs.

Oscar grimaced. Right, Nora and Weiss had mentioned Whitley last night.

"Yeah... I mean, I guess I've got some stories? Nothing too interesting. I am dating someone, his name's Whitley."

"Well show us a picture," Ivy said, grinning at him broadly.

Oscar fumbled for his scroll and flipped through it to show a picture of Whitley (his favorite, which was the one he took for Yang the moment after Whitley confessed. He had on the Schnee look of love, and just looked absolutely _adorable_ in Oscar's opinion).

Natalie stared at the photo blankly.

"Is that... are you dating Whitley _Schnee_?"

"Uh, yeah."

Oscar had forgotten that people know the Schnee family name. At some point, Whitley Schnee, heir to one of the largest commercial conglomerates in the world, had morphed into Whit-Whit, Oscar's adorable, and slightly dorky, boyfriend that still got flustered whenever they kissed.

"Yeah, right, sorry, I kinda forgot he was famous and all."

"You're pulling my leg, man," Rachel said. "I swear this guy's been lying since the moment he got here!"

"I haven't!" Oscar responded, eyes wide. "I swear!"

Ivy and Natalie glanced at Rachel.

"Says he's friends with the entire faculty, saved the world, blah, blah, blah. Real good story, just not believable. Now he says he's dating Whitley Schnee?" Rachel elbowed him again, shaking her head.

"You almost had me going about the faculty thing, now _this_? Just quit while you're ahead, man."

Ivy and Natalie stared at him, the former with a vague sort of interest and the latter with a small glare on her face, as if she didn't know whether to trust if he'd even told them his real name.

"I swear I'm not lying. Although, I kinda wish I was because-"

Just then, Nora hopped onto the stage, grinning. She was followed by the rest of Oscar's friends, who all smiled at him, easily picking their traveling companion out of the crowd.

"As I was saying, I'm going to leave you all in the hands of our _very_ capable staff while I get our second years settled. If you have any questions, please direct them to them."

Glynda handed her microphone to Blake and stepped down from the stage and exited the room quickly.

Nora grabbed the microphone from Blake happily, pulling it up to her mouth.

"Hi! My name's Nora, but you'll know me as Ms. Valkyrie, cause I guess I'm a teacher now."

Her teammates grimaced.

"And I just have one thing to say. If any of you, and I mean **any** of you, mess with my little Ozzy boy, Oscar Pine, star child, future of human and faunus alike, we will make sure you have _dire_ consequences."

"Give me the damn microphone," Yang muttered, reaching around Nora to grab the piece of equipment. She handed it to her sister once she'd gotten it.

"I apologize for Ms. Valkyrie. She is... very excited for this school year, and cares very deeply for her friends!" Ruby recovered as best as she could.

Oscar turned to his teammates with a sheepish smile.

"I can do a call with Whitley later if you really want proof, I guess? But... yeah, these are my friends."

Rachel's jaw dropped (she hadn't really thought these idiots could be faculty) while Ivy grinned at Oscar.

"They seem nice. I could feel their Auras, and they're quite passionate."

Natalie snorted.

"That's one way of putting it."

Oscar found himself agreeing and hoping he'd be able to make it through the year.


	8. Student-Teacher Conference

"Um... like I was saying, that's Ms. Valkyrie, that's Mr. Arc, Ms. Nikos, Ms. Amitola, Mr.," Ruby paused for a second to glance at Ren, wondering what he'd like to be called, "Ren, Mr. Wukong, Mrs. Belladonn-Schnee, Ms. Adel, Ms. Scarletina, Mr. Alistair, Mr. Daichi, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee, Ms. Schnee, Ms. Polendina, Ms. Soleil, Ms. Neopolitan, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee, and I'm Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee!" Ruby said happily, holding the microphone up to her lips. She'd gestured at each of her friends as she'd said their surname, several of them waving or striking poses (Yang and Sun specifically, though Coco had done a hair flip, which Ruby supposed counted).

"We all went to Beacon back before the fall, and we're really excited to be back to teach you all what we learned not just here, but on our adventures! This is team CFVY, PWNC, JNIPRS (formerly JNPR), and we're team RWBY! Most of us met right here on our own initiation days!"

Ruby spared a moment to smile at her friends.

"So if you all have any questions-"

 **Dozens** of hands shot into the air, and Ruby seemed overwhelmed.

Weiss gestured at one of the closest hands for her wife, and Ruby gave her a thankful smile.

"How old are you guys?" the first student asked.

"Anywhere from eighteen to mid twenties."

"What were you guys doing during the fall?" another student asked, once Weiss had pointed at him.

Ruby looked around at her friends.

"Uh, well, my team and I, team RWBY, were actually taking down a notorious member of the White Fang, Adam Taurus."

Ruby passed the microphone to Jaune.

"I was defending Pyrrha Nikos, yeah, that one, she's right there, from this evil demon lady that wanted to steal her magic powers."

Ilia rolled her eyes sufferingly and took the microphone.

"I swear... how are you going to be a teacher if you can't explain things, Jaune?! Anyways, _I_ was the one that did most of the defending of Ms. Nikos over here. Another woman, whom has since been killed by Pyrrha, by the name of Cinder was attempting to kill her and... confiscate top secret intel."

"What she said," Jaune continued, gesturing at Ilia.

"Team CFVY was just providing ground support and helping civilians," Coco said.

"Team PWNC was not yet formed, though Ms. Polendina and myself were helping civilians as well," Winter said.

Weiss called on another student.

"Did you say that you took down the White Fang leader Adam Taurus?!" the student asked. They had small dog ears that twitched on their head, and Blake found herself instantly associating with the student.

Ruby passed the microphone to Blake.

"Yes, we did, back at the fall. He and I had a... complicated relationship in the past, and I am not afraid to admit that my past isn't perfect. But my team was there at my side to help me deal with my mistakes, which is what your team is all about."

Coco grabbed the microphone from Blake.

"But team CFVY actually did all of the taking down of the White Fang, thank you very much. We took down the branch in Menagerie after the fall while these idiots did who knows what."

"We were saving the world, you _know_ this," Yang said, wrestling the microphone away from Coco before passing it to Ruby.

Coco rolled her eyes.

Weiss pointed at another student.

"Why are you teaching us this year instead of the teachers from before?"

"Because they quit," Yang said, leaning down so that she could speak into the microphone.

"How come?" the same student asked.

"Because of the fall of Beacon. Many of them were older and had families that they wanted to be around to support, and felt unsafe here afterwards," Ruby said, gesturing at Blake, who held Yang back for her so that she couldn't get the microphone.

Weiss called on another student.

"What all did you guys do after the fall?"

There was a moment of silence as the group looked at each other.

"That's... a very complicated story that I am _quit_ sure Ms. Valkyrie will explain to you in great detail at any other time, but I'm afraid we don't have enough time."

Nora pouted and slouched, stopping her slow approach toward the microphone.

"But we did do a lot of good for the world, such as team CFVY's take down of the White Fang."

Another faunus raised their hand with a glare, and Weiss pointed at them.

"What makes you think that's so good for the world? You stand up there with not one but _two_ Schnees telling us that you took down the White Fang and expect for us to **trust** you?"

Ruby didn't hesitate as she handed the microphone to Blake, who held it low enough that she and Ilia could speak into it.

"As former members of the White Fang, we feel _very_ informed in our assessment of the White Fang's politics and how important it was to take them down," Blake said.

Ilia nodded and changed colors so that the students could see.

"What they did for the faunus people was _not_ for the good of our kind, and although equality has still not been reached, not one, but _four_ faunus stand on this stage in front of you, completely prepared to train the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses to help make a better world," Ilia said.

She let out a breath of relief that she had been holding in, glad that she hadn't stuttered.

Pyrrha smiled down at her lovingly, putting a hand on her shoulder while Sun quietly cheered, looping his tail around her waist.

"And as someone who knows the Schnee family better than almost anyone," Blake said, "I can assure you that you don't have to fear discrimination at the hands of these two wonderful women."

Another hand shot up, and Weiss called on them.

"What if I don't **want** to be taught by dirty faunus?"

Yang and Coco wrestled over the microphone before both gave up and decided to share it, if only so that they could respond to the student faster.

"Then the door's right there, don't let my machine gun hit you in the ass on the way out," Coco said dangerously.

"Your dorms are all the way in the East hall if you would like some alone time to go screw yourself," Yang said a moment later, eyes turning dangerous.

There was a moment of silence as the student sat back down. Yang and Coco smiled down at him before handing the microphone back to Ruby.

"Any other questions?"

Weiss called on another hand.

"How did she get her mechanical arm?"

Yang grinned, reaching forward to take the microphone again.

"An alligator bit off my first one."

Weiss grabbed the microphone, shaking her head sufferingly.

"She lost it in a battle against an evil woman by the name of Salem. The prosthetic is a gift from Ms. Polendina and her father, who works in Atlas."

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Can't let me have any fun, can ya, Angel?" she asked, putting her arm around Weiss' waist. The former heiress rolled her eyes as Ruby spoke into the microphone again.

Weiss pointed at another student.

"Is this the entire faculty?"

"Yup! You better get used to us, cause we're not going anywhere... probably. I mean, Neo might run off from time to time, but that's just because she likes to fly the airship and crash it randomly."

_'I've never crashed that thin in my life! Get off my back!'_

"Ms. Neopolitan respectfully asks for the record to show that she has never crashed an airship before in her life, although the rest of us up here would disagree," Ciel translated.

Another hand shot up.

"Wait, is that _the_ Neopolitan?!"

"The one and only!" Ruby said happily.

The students gaped at the former criminal, who winked at them, leaning against her parasol.

"Don't worry! She's a teddy bear, really! And if she gives you any trouble, just tell Ms. Soleil. She'll make sure her girlfriend stays in line!" Ruby said happily, grinning down at the large audience.

There was a shock moment of silence as the crowd looked between Neo and Ciel. Neo grinned, wrapping her arms around Ciel, who sighed sufferingly, pulling back and gesturing at the children. Neo didn't seem to care and she set her head against Ciel's shoulder, nuzzling against the crook of her neck.

"Ms. Neopolitan is also mute, which means that she can only communicate through sign language! That... probably means she won't be teaching a class by herself, but she's **really** good at sparring! She beat my sister up one time! That was pretty awesome. Oh, right, that's my sister," Ruby said, gesturing at Yang, who waved.

Ciel raised her arms to get Ruby's attention, gesturing at her watch.

"Okay, I think we've got time for one more question, so make it a good one!" Ruby said happily.

Weiss pointed at one final student.

"Uh, yeah, I got kind of lost when you were introducing everyone, and I was wondering... did you say Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee four times? Is that a hyphenated form of the Schnee surname?" the student asked.

"Yes, I did! And it is! It's also a hyphenated form of the Belladonna surname!" Ruby said happily. Weiss grimaced and yanked the microphone away from her wife before she could respond to the question.

"What Ruby is trying to say, is that the entirety of team RWBY now goes by the surname Belladonna-Schnee, because," Weiss glanced at her teammates and rolled her eyes at Ruby and Yang's excitement, "we got married. Except Ruby and Yang, for obvious reasons. We got married a little over a week and a half ago, and we decided to hyphenate my last name and Blake's last name."

There was a beat of silence.

"The four of you got married?" a voice asked suddenly.

"Yes, and if any of you want to say something about it, then I suggest that you come talk to myself or one of my wives about it outside of school borders so that it can be a fair fight," Weiss said, handing the microphone back to Ruby.

"That's my wife! And so that's that!" she said, gesturing at Blake, who awkwardly waved at the first year students.

"Heck yeah!" Yang said, following Ruby as she walked off the stage.

Ruby went to drop the microphone, but paused as she worried that she might break it. After a moment of consideration, she just set it down gently on the floor and hurried down the steps.

The rest of her friends followed after her, and Nora stopped to pick up the microphone.

"Seriously, I'll **hurt you** if you do anything to Ozzy. Love you, Oz!" she cried as Ren dragged her off of the stage.

The entire first year stared at the faculty with wide eyes, and Oscar's team glanced at them. he gave the three awkward smiles.

"Uh, yeah... those are my friends. I know, I know, they're-"

"Amazing!" Ivy said in her slightly dazed voice.

Oscar smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, they are pretty amazing."


	9. Assignments

"That went great!" Ruby said happily.

"It went pretty good, I guess," Yang said smugly.

"It went alright at best," Blake replied.

"That went horribly," Weiss said, shaking her head sufferingly.

Her wives glanced at her, and Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes.

"You know we have to _deal_ with those students for at **least** a year, right?" she asked.

"Oh, right," Yang said, grinning, "how could I _ever_ forget the job I literally just got."

Weiss held in another sigh.

As the group broke into discussions, Glynda came hurrying down the hall.

"There you all are! I've been looking for you! Here are your assignments."

She handed each team leader a piece of paper before she hurried off.

Ruby glanced down at the paper, eyes going wide.

"Okay! Blakey, you're at Morality of the Huntsmen and Huntress! Aw, you're going to _love_ that! Yang, you're doing hand-to-hand combat. You'll be _great_ at that! Weiss, you're doing theoretical dust studies," Ruby gave her wife a sympathetic look, though Weiss looked excited. "And I'm-"

Ruby gasped in excitement, dropping the paper in the process. Weiss plucked it out of the air easily. She held it up, eyes flickering over it. Ruby let out a squeal of uncontainable joy.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"She's in charge of weapon handling and repair."

Ruby let out another squeal of excitement, and her wives rolled their eyes.

"Rubes, calm down," Yang said, setting a hand on her sister's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Jaune looked over another paper.

"Ilia, you're going to be over at Morality of the Huntsmen and Huntress with Blake. Ren, you're with Yang at hand-to-hand combat. Nora, you're going to be working at history. Pyrrha, you're handling The Art of the Semblance. And Sun, you're with Nora."

Penny looked over the other paper with excitement as she flipped through it.

"Friends Ciel and Neo, you're working at Sparring Practice. Girlfriend Winter, you're with your sister at theoretical dust studies! And I'm at weapon handling and repair with Friend Ruby!"

Coco glanced over the final paper over her sunglasses, pulling them down her nose. Velvet took the opportunity to steal them and set them over her eyes, making Coco roll her eyes fondly.

"Velvs, you're with Pyrrha at The Art of the Semblance. Fox, you're with Yatsu on guard duty. And I'm," Coco smirked, "working with Yang and Ren at hand-to-hand combat."

Yang's eyes widened and shot to Coco, who smirked at her.

"Oh, this is going to be _fun_."


	10. History Class

Nora looks out at the group with a wide smile, Sun at her side.

"Before we get started on our lesson today, which will be just Ms. Valkyrie and myself explaining the events we've taken part of since the fall of Beacon, do any of you have questions?" Sun asked, tail wagging behind him.

A hand raised, and Sun pointed at it with his tail.

"How do we know we can trust you all? You say that some of your friends took down the White Fang? You say that you saved the world? How do we know it's not just exaggerations?"

Sun grinned and pulled the camera from around his shoulders.

"Now you gotta be gentle with this, cause Ms. Scarletina would kill me if something happened to it, but this bad boy has some _actual pictures_ from some of our adventures, including one that she snapped of _the gods_! Now, she probably should **not** have done that, but she did, and now we have a documentation of them!" Sun said happily, darting across the classroom to show the pictures to all of the students.

Nora cracked her knuckles, glancing at the notes she'd taken over the stories her friends had told.

"Like most myths and folk lore, the story of the Maidens started as a widely known fact that got diluted over the centuries to be nothing more than a children's tale. Is everyone here aware of this story?"

There was a chorus of nodding and affirmations, and Nora grinned.

"Great! That means I can jump right in! Those Maidens, of the seasons we all know and love, are quite real, and exist in the halls of this very school!" Nora said dramatically. There were loud cries of disbelief, and Nora sighed.

"Good thing Neo has this period off, huh?" she asked Sun, clapping her hands loudly.

The doors slammed open from a giant gust of wind, giving Neopolitan entrance into the lecture hall. She glanced up at the students with a smirk, leaves flowing around her hands as she twisted her fingers. Under her feet lay dozens more. Outside, it started to thunder, rain plummeting to the ground and striking the school loudly. A clash of lightning struck, causing many of the students, both first and second years alike, to jump in shock.

"Our very own Ms. Neopolitan is not only a Maiden, but a **double** Maiden! Isn't that neat?! She got these powers because the previous Summer and Spring Maidens were killed by a-"

Sun set a hand on her shoulder.

"Right, right, I'm getting ahead of myself," Nora said. "So let's start at the beginning of this insanity. The fall of Beacon three years ago. It was after the end of the Tournament, which was cut short due to Winter Schnee running onto the battle field before the fight between my own team JNPR and Penny Polendina's fight could commence. Although reports vary, I can tell you exactly why she did this. You see, Penny Polendina, one of your weaponry teachers, is a robot with her own Aura! You can ask her this yourself later today, if you don't believe me, and she will be more than capable of showing you I'm right! She was built by the Atlas military to help combat and protect against Grimm!"

"She was fighting Pyrrha Nikos, our teammate and my girlfriend, who has polarity as her semblance, which allows her to manipulate metal! Because of this, a fight between her and Penny would have been disastrous, and she could have accidentally torn Penny apart without knowing what she was doing!" Sun continued for Nora.

"And since Winter Schnee knew this, she was understandably worried due to her romantic interest in Penny Polendina! So she rushed onto the battle field and _threw herself_ in front of Penny Polendina, begging that my teammate, Pyrrha Nikos, not hurt her!" Nora said dramatically.

There were gasps around the room as students were enraptured in the story, leaning forward in their seats as they watched Sun and Nora speak, making them feel as if they had been there at the battle themselves.

"And then Ilia Amitola **burst** out of the shadows behind Cinder Fall, throwing herself at her enemy in an attempt to buy Pyrrha Nikos more time!" Sun cried dramatically. "She and Jaune Arc fought against her for several minutes, but they were no match for Cinder Fall, considering she had half of the power of the Fall Maiden!"

"Inside of the chamber, Pyrrha Nikos fought for her very soul against the raging torrent of Amber that shoved against her, threatening to engulf her!" Nora cried. She let silent rein for a moment, almost causing several students to ask what happened next. "Then, as she looked out at the battlefield, she watched Ilia Amitola and Jaune Arc fighting against Cinder Fall and realized something."

"She was in love," Sun said quietly. "She was in love with the small chameleon faunus, who had spent her whole life fighting for her right to live, fighting for the rights of faunus everywhere... and had now sacrificed it all to fight for Pyrrha of all people, to be at her side."

There was a collective gasp.

"Pyrrha **burst** from the chamber successfully, half of the Maiden's powers within her and raced toward Cinder Fall! The two battled against one another for many minutes, but Pyrrha's semblance was able to give her the upper-hand against Cinder, and she defeated her. She proclaimed her love for Ilia, and Ilia said she felt the same!" Nora yelled triumphantly.

A hand shot into the air.

"But I thought Mr. Wukong and Ms. Nikos were dating!"

"We are, we are, but we're both also dating Ms. Amitola. But we're not _there yet_!" Sun cried, gesturing for students to hush as Nora spoke.

The class sat in rapt silence as Nora and Sun recalled the beginnings of their adventures.

"And then the criminal Neopolitan escaped from custody, disappearing into broken shards through the use of her Semblance!" Nora said dramatically.

Neo winked at the class, leaning against the wall.

"But, just when Ciel Soleil thought she had seen the last of her unlikely traveling companion, Neopolitan reappeared before her, handing her a message that read, and I quote; _Gorgeous, I really did enjoy our time together. I'll be in touch, Neo._ "

Neo gave Nora a thumbs up to let her know that she'd gotten it right.

There was a rapt silence in the room before one student spoke up.

"Why did you do that? What did you want to get from her?" she asked Neo.

Neo let out a huff of air, scuffing the ground with her shoe.

_'Why does everyone ask me that? I just liked her, alright? Haven't you just ever met someone and thought 'wow, this is it, I think they could be the one' even though you've barely spoken to them at all?'_

Sun and Nora translated, and the class stared at Neo in wonder.

_'And just because you're hearing me get sappy does **not** mean that I won't kick all of your asses later today in class, got it?'_

The class nodded, though a few students let out snickers.

"And, as the note had promised, that was _not_ the last that Ciel would see of Neopolitan, because the criminal came to visit her every night on her balcony! She also left her notes, which, if I'm not mistaken, are all located in the back of Ciel's not-so-secret diary, if any of you kids want to pester her into letting you read them," Sun said.

Neo smirked.

_'They're pretty romantic. Say what you will of me, but I'm a charmer.'_

Neo winked again as Sun translated, and a few students swooned while others laughed.

A few more minutes passed.

"And it was with a heavy heart that the General cast Atlas into marshal law, causing team RWBY-"

The bell rang, cutting Nora off. Nobody moved to pack up.

"What happened then?!"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see tomorrow, won't you? Now get going! Ciel will have your hides if any of you are late to her class. You know, I think she has an internal watch. I don't know why she needs one on her wrist," Sun said, dismissing the large group of students, who scattered with small laughs.

As Nora and Sun watched them leave, Neo slipping out the window and climbing to the second floor to rejoin her girlfriend, the pair smiled, glancing at each other.

They'd both always enjoyed telling stories and explaining stuff... so maybe this whole history class thing wasn't so bad.


	11. Classes (Part One)

"The best way to get an advantage through the use of your semblance is by keeping it a secret to your opponent until you need it. Can anyone tell me what my semblance is? It's not online anywhere, so don't be afraid to admit you don't know. I've kept it very sec-"

Almost every student's hand shot into the air, and Pyrrha trailed off.

She pointed at a student.

"Your semblance is polarity."

Pyrrha was stunned.

"I... yes, it is. How did you know that?"

"Ms. Valkyrie and Mr. Wukong told us in history," the student said.

Pyrrha nodded slowly.

"They also told us you're a Maiden! Is that true?"

Pyrrha glanced around the room, seeing many intrigued faces.

"Yes, that's true. I am the Fall Maiden and have been since-"

"The fall of Beacon! Ilia saved your life!" a student finished for her.

"That's... also correct. How much did your history teachers tell you?" Pyrrha asked, glancing at Vevlet.

"Oh, a bunch of stuff!" a particularly excited student said. "Like how Ms. Amitola left the White Fang because of what you said to her, how you two fell in love, how you're both dating Mr. Wukong. How Ms. Neopolitan and Ms. Soleil met-"

"Why are you teaching you this instead of history?" Pyrrha asked.

There was a beat of silence.

"Ms. Nikos, this _is_ history. And it's the best kind! It's recent and **relevant** history that is being told by the world's only first hand witnesses!"

Pyrrha and Velvet glanced at each other.

"Right... and I don't suppose they told you about Velvet's semblance, did they?"

"They did!" another voice chimed in. "It's quite amazing, Ms. Scarletina!"

Velvet flushed, glancing at Pyrrha.

"Perhaps they should focus more on the actual subject matter than the people," Pyrrha said slowly, voice uncertain.

"But, Ms. Nikos, the most important part of history is always the motivations! And if your motivation to survive in that chamber was Ms. Amitola, isn't that important to history?"

Pyrrha let out a slow breath, putting on a smile despite how awkward she felt.

"Yes, I suppose you're right, although it does make me rather uncomfortable to know that my peers are sharing my personal life with students."

Velvet nodded quickly in agreement, looking worried.

"Have they... said anything about me?" Velvet asked cautiously.

"Some! We heard that you play a more important part later against the White Fang. They said you had a relationship with one of your teammates as well, though they didn't say who," one student said.

"Who is it?" another asked.

Velvet grimaced, glancing at Pyrrha to see what the other girl thought.

Pyrrha sighed, raising her hands in defeat.

"Alright, alright. Get your questions out about today's lecture in history, but we're not giving any spoilers. Nora hates it when we do that. But then we're getting back to class! You have a minute!"

The students looked at Velvet expectantly, and she sighed, ears curling down on themselves slightly.

"Coco. You all know her as Ms. Adel. We started dating right before the tournament, and have been together ever since."

"When did team RWBY get together?!" another voice cried.

Pyrrha sighed.

"How about you ask them yourselves? Your minute's up. Now, as I was saying, the best trick is to keep your semblance-"

-

Yang held her mechanical hand in the air, figures twitching on command as she grinned at the class.

"Sometimes, what you see as your worst weakness, can become your greatest and most unexpected strength."

Coco rushed at her, grinning as she raised a hand to punch Yang, who brought her mechanical arm up to block the blow, only to detach the arm and send Coco toppling forward (albeit dramatically considering they'd planned this) and letting Yang spin, planting a foot on Coco's back to declare her victory.

She removed her foot quickly and Coco stood, tossing Yang her arm.

"Think you lost something, fisticuffs."

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe you'd be able to see better if you'd take off those sunglasses of yours."

Ren sat silently on the desk, watching the pair.

Yang gestured for her friend, and he gave her a small smile.

He stepped forward and addressed the impressively silent classroom.

"But it is always important to remember one of your greatest strengths in a fight. The element of surprise. If you're able to sneak up on an opponent, then they won't be ready to defend themselves. Also, don't forget that even during a fight with another human, be it a spar or a war, it's imperative that you keep your emotions in check, so as not to call any more Grimm."

"Easy for you to say, Ren. Your semblance _literally_ does that," Coco said, rolling her eyes, though it couldn't be seen behind her sunglasses. Her expression communicated the eye roll anyway.

Ren shook his head.

"It's an important discipline that every Huntsman and Huntress needs to know in life."

"You know, you should listen to this guy. He's real smart, not Blake smart, but real smart. He's saved my life several times," Yang said.

"I don't know, I think Pyrrha might be the real brains of that team," Coco commented.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"I never said she wasn't, Coco. Can't you just back me up for once?"

"You mean besides the several times I've have to save you a-" she hesitated, "butt in battle."

Yang shoved her, turning her attention back to the team.

"That's also important. Being able to trust your teammates and friends will save you life in the future, trust me. There was this one time where my team and I were fighting against this crazy criminal dude, Roman Torchwick if that rings any bells, and-"

-

Neo stalked back and forth across the room almost silently, a menacing look on her face, though students followed her every move with small smiles.

Ciel stood in front of her, directing the class on proper sparrring.

"It's of the utmost import that you pay attention to your Aura levels, because that can be the difference between not only winning and losing, but later life and death. Because that's what you're going to face out there, every single day. Do we have any volunteers for a practice spar?"

No hands raised, and Ciel rolled her eyes, pulling out her scroll.

A few minutes later, Yang burst into the room, grinning like an idiot.

"You want a rematch, Neo?!" she cried. "Bring it!"

Neo smirked, leaning against her parasol as Yang hurried down the steps.

"None of that Maiden stuff, though. Just _real_ sparring, got it?"

Neo nodded and stood, crooking her finger and beckoning Yang toward her.

Yang grinned and raced forward.

"That was a mistake. Never let your opponent goad you into a battle," Ciel said.

Yang's weapons clicked into place and she swung her metallic arm at Neo, who grabbed it with her parasol and easily redirected the attack to the side, knocking Yang off balance.

"Always be steady on your feet," Ciel added.

Neo smacked Yang as she stumbled.

"Don't antagonize your opponents," Ciel said, though her eyes narrowed and let Neo know that the words had mostly been meant for her.

Yang regained her balance and took a step toward Neo, swinging her fist forward for another punch.

Ciel opened her mouth to point out what Yang had done wrong, but the blond suddenly halted her attack, causing Neo's parasol defense to swing right ahead of Yang's fist.

She smirked and kicked her leg out at Neo, who reacted just as quickly and leapt into the air, landing daintily on Yang's arm and sticking her tongue out at her.

Yang was forced to duck as Neo kicked at her face. Yang dropped her arm and caused Neo to fall as well, hitting the ground gently and barely making a click as her heels hit tile.

Neo smirked at Yang, clearly trying to say _'you've gotten better.'_

"Yeah, well, that kinda thing happens after you train," Yang said sarcastically to Neo.

Neo used this as an opportunity to extend the blade of her weapon.

"Never get distracted by talking to your opponent, and never forget that almost every weapon has multiple forms. What seems like a harmless purse could really be a machine gun."

The students glanced at Ciel, and she nodded.

"Yes, yes, I am referring to Ms. Adel. Watch the fight."

Neo slammed Yang against the ground and smirked, looming over Yang.

Yang suddenly grinned, her body glowing as she activated her semblance. She reached out with incredible speed and grabbed Neo by the wrist, slamming her against the ground and preparing her weapon.

"Never forget that your enemy might be hiding their semblance and if you **know** what their semblance is, Neo, then never forget it. Also, as I said before, don't antagonize or taunt your opponent, as it only makes them angrily and thus more fit to fight."

Neo rolled to the side and avoided a gunshot from Yang's gauntlets.

Neo leapt to her feet deftly, eyeing Yang distrustfully and raising her weapon.

The bell rang again.

"That seems to be all the time we have for today. Read pages one to ten before you return to class tomorrow or I won't let Nora tell you the next saga in our story."

Students watched her nervously as if wondering if Ciel would really go through with such a thing. She eyed them levelly as if they ask if they really wanted to test her.

None seemed to owant to, and she turned back around to Yang and Neo.

"Thank you, Yang. That'll be all."

Yang and Neo pouted.

"What about next class?" Yang asked.

"I already have Pyrrha scheduled, because _you_ have a class of your own to get to, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee. Now run along," Ciel said, giving her the barest of smirks.

Yang rolled her eyes before jogging back to the classroom she was supposed to be in.

-

"Theoretical dust studies is the study of dust, its applications, its history, and its other possible uses, which are being researched everyd-"

Winter froze, turning to glare at the students that had started to speak.

"Do any of you have something you'd like to share with the class?" Winter asked harshly.

They all glanced at her.

"Sorry, Ms. Schnee," one student said, though she had a smirk and others started to laugh.

"Mind sharing what is so funny?" Winter snapped.

A brave, if smarmy, boy spoke. He had hair that was messy, though purposefully so. He reminded Weiss of Cardin.

"We were just all thinking that it was pretty funny how we kept hearing about how you acted at the fall of Beacon was so different from now. Did you ever tell Ms. Polendina how you feel about her?" he asked, smirking.

Winter glared at him, snapping a pencil in her hands.

"While I am unaware why my personal life would _ever_ be any of your concern, I am willing to tell you that yes, yes I did."

"Did she reject you? Is that why you act like you've got a stick up your a-"

Winter slammed her weapon against his desk, eyes blazing dangerously.

"If you have a problem, I would be more than happy to take it up with you in the sparring classroom right this moment. I hear the Ms. Soleil has been short on volunteers, and I would love to have the chance to make a lesson out of our fight."

The boy's eyes widened.

"And, although this is **none** of your business whatsoever, Ms. Polendina returned my feelings, just as I will be happy to return your dignity once you've stopped sniveling like a wretched mutt."

There was a tense moment of silence.

"Does anyone else wish to discuss my personal life with me?" Winter asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"Very good. As I was saying, dust theories can vary anywhere from weaponry to basic family-"

-

The bell rang and the students started to file out of the Theoretical Dust Studies room. As they did, a familiar figure darted past, skidding to a stop in front of Winter excitedly.

"Girlfriend Winter, class has been _fantastic!_ I simply **love** teaching students, and about weaponry no less!"

Penny bounced up and down in her enthusiasm, and Winter smiled just thinly at her, taking her girlfriend's hand in her own.

"I'm not surprised, you've always been good with children, dear."

The students watched Winter with a mixture of fear and shock as she spoke calmly to her girlfriend.

As Weiss walked by, she chuckled.

"She won't ever talk to any of you a tenth as nicely as she does to Ms. Polendina, and I off all people should know. I advice that none of you mention her personal life ever again."


	12. Classes (Part Two)

Blake smiled out at the class, awkwardly, and glanced at her notes. She looked at her fellow teacher, Ilia, and let out a quiet sigh. Why did they both have to be teaching the same class?! Couldn't they have someone that was less awkward in there with them?!

Blake shook her head.

"Today we're going to be learning about the morality of the huntsman and huntress, as I suppose the name of the class would imply. Now a good question would be what exactly does that _mean_."

Ilia nodded.

"In our time as Huntresses, though I'll admit it hasn't been a very long time, Ilia and myself have encountered lots of Huntsmen and Huntresses that didn't deserve to have their ranks. Not because their bodies weren't strong enough, but because their minds and spirits weren't strong enough. Because of the recent revelations of betrayal and cowardice of Huntsmen and Huntresses that shall go unnamed, the headmistress found it necessary that we have a class on the morality of our students, which we fully agree with."

Blake paused to give Ilia a small smile of encouragement, and she took a deep breath to prepare herself.

"One of the basic tenets of all Huntsman and Huntress training is that, once certified, it is your responsibility and _pride_ to protect civilians above all else. But everything begins with your teammates," Ilia said. "It's important to build your relationship as a team together."

There was a collective snicker from the group, and the two new teachers glanced at each other.

"What's so funny?" Blake asked after a moment.

"Maybe not everyone wants to build a _relationship_ with their team," one boy said, elbowing another boy who was clearly his partner. The boy laughed and shook his head.

Blake and Ilia both stared at the boy, glaring.

"There's more than one type of relationship," Blake said, glaring at the boy, "and of course you don't need a romantic one with your teammates! Although sometimes it's possible that once you've grown closer to a person, you'll gain romantic interest in them. But that's definitely not the case for everyone!"

"Of people, I guess," a student said, chuckling to themselves.

Blake glared down at them.

"If any of you have a problem with my relationship with my teammates, I do suggest that we take it up after class, because the beat down you'll receive will take more than the allotted time for this class period, and I really do wish to teach the other students, who I'm sure will be going places with their lives."

Ilia smiled widely at the words, nodding at her friend's words.

"Any takers?"

There was a beat of silence.

"Good! Like I was saying-"

-

Ruby and Penny excitedly started their lesson together.

"And this is my weapon! Her name's Crescent Rose, and she's like my best friend."

Penny glanced at her.

"Well, not _quite_ my best friend, but she's really awesome! Look! She can transform from a scythe into a high-caliber sniper!"

She stroked her weapon with a distracted smile on her face.

Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Oh, dust, are both of my best friends machines?!" she asked with wide eyes.

Penny stared at her, glancing at Ruby's weapon.

Ruby looked between her best friend and Crescent Rose.

There was loud laughter from the room and Ruby shook her head.

"Right, sorry, that's not what's important... anyways, what I'm trying to say is that if you take care of your weapon, your weapon will take care of you too! And don't forget to look at other people's weapons, because the more you know the less likely you are to be caught off guard!"

Ruby bounced over to Penny excitedly.

"Because when you're in a fight, who would expect to see _this_!"

She gestured at Penny, who grinned and let her back open to reveal her knives, which expertly flipped from her back and appeared behind her.

As students stared in shock, Penny waved at them happily.

"As you can see, it's very important to pay attention to the weaponry of others so that you're constantly prepared!"

"Because, as Girlfriend Winter once told me, not everyone has heat vision and can sense metal!" Penny said happily.

There was laughter around her, and Penny frowned.

She glanced at Ruby.

"Was Girlfriend Winter joking? I can never tell when she's being sarcastic. I was not aware that humans have heat vision and metal sensing," Penny said.

"No, Pen. Nobody but you has that," Ruby said, shaking her head.

Students glanced at Penny.

"Is she really a robot?" one student asked.

Penny nodded, her smile not dropping.

"She's also got an aura! And she has ma-wait, Nora would be _real_ upset if I spoiled **that** one," Ruby said. "My point is that Penny might be made of metal," Ruby rapped her fist against her friend's arm and making a metallic ringing sound, "but underneath that she's all human! I mean, not literally, but she's got a soul and all!"

There was a beat of silence.

"Well, Winter's better at explaining it than I am... but yeah, Penny's got her soul and all!" Ruby continued.

"Friend Ruby, maybe we should get back to the lesson."

"Right! Right, the lesson! Who wants to show me their weapon?!"


	13. Oscar's First Day

Oscar's first day at Beacon was... well, it wasn't _completely_ horrible, but it certainly wasn't great either. He supposed that it was unforgettable. Yes, he doubted he'd forget that day for the rest of his life.

First period was, relatively, calm for him. Nobody had been through history class yet, which meant that nobody knew about his friends (well, more than what they'd said about themselves at the initiation speech.

His first class had been the Morality of the Huntsman and Huntress with Blake and Ilia, who had both given him small smiles and a discreet wave. Neither had seemed intent on embarrassing him, and he'd felt grateful for that. But the grace period hadn't last long.

In his second period, he wasn't quite as lucky. It had been _history_ of all classes, and he'd been stuck with-

"Ozzy! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Nora had cried, scooping him into her arms and giving him a tight hug.

Oscar squirmed in her grip, looking to his teammates for help.

Rachel laughed quietly, holding a hand in front of her mouth to quiet it. Ivy smiled at the pair with a slightly loopy look, as if she was looking past the pair. Natalie just rolled her eyes, setting a hand on Ivy's shoulder and leading her further into the classroom.

"Have you ever thought that Oscar's aura looks a whole lot like Ozpin's did?" Ivy asked as she took her seat, running her hand over the wooden table in front of her. "This must have been a beautiful tree. Oak, I think. Out back in the meadow... this was cut down after the fall."

Natalie glanced at her, raising and eyebrow.

Ivy giggled and raised her hand toward Oscar as he pulled away from Nora, finally.

"Can I touch your arm?" she asked.

Oscar glanced at her.

"I... guess?"

She smiled and reached her hand out to grab his hand. Her eyes fluttered shut.

"Your aura _is_ remarkably similar to Ozpin's. You... had Ozpin's aura inside of you? I can feel it, the missing piece of you. He's... gone, for good this time. After much suffering, centuries of-"

Oscar wrenched his hand out of hers, eyes wide.

"How did you-who... who told you?!" Oscar cried.

Ivy's eyes opened again and she smiled at him.

"You told me, Oscar. I could feel the remnant of his aura in you. You miss him terribly, don't you?"

Oscar took a step backwards in shock.

"I... yes, I do miss him."

"Wait, what?" Rachel asked, staring at Oscar in confusion.

"It's nothing," Oscar said quickly. "It's... really not important."

Natalie reached out to set her hand on Ivy's shoulder, but hesitated.

"Ivy, I think that's enough, you're scaring him."

"Oh, right!" Ivy giggled. "Sometimes I get too lost in the past that I forget the present!"

"Yes, I know. I'm the one that told you that," Natalie muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I remember that too! It was very insightful of you."

Natalie stared at her for a long moment.

"Thank you?"

"You're very welcome, Natalie!"

"Your new friends are weird," Nora said.

"You're really not one to talk, Nora," Oscar said, rolling his eyes.

"What?! I'm totally normal!"

"Nora, I once saw you choke on fifteen pancakes at once."

"Because Ren's pancakes are amazing!"

"You can take a minute to chew, Nora! Pyrrha had to Heimlich you because nobody else was strong enough!" Oscar cried.

"I didn't die, did I?!" Nora asked.

"You almost did!" Oscar responded.

He glanced up and saw that the entire class was staring at them.

He flushed.

"Uh, Nora, you should probably get back to teaching."

Nora huffed, crossing her arms.

"If you're going to be so snippy, then you'll have to call me Ms. Valkyrie like the rest of the students."

"Nora, we traveled the world together in an airship piloted by a crazy old woman and a criminal that almost crashed us at least a dozen times. I think I've more than earned the right to call you by your first name."

"But now you're a student that doesn't want preferential treatment, Mr. Pine."

Oscar rolled his eyes.

"Just go teach, Nora."

Nora stuck her tongue out at him as Sun dragged her toward the front of the classroom.

"See you tonight, Oscar!" he said happily as Nora rolled her eyes, already getting into her teaching persona.

"Who's ready to learn some not so distant history?!"

Third period was, thankfully, not as bad as the one before. Though Oscar honestly couldn't imagine how it could have been considering how often Nora would call on him and ask random questions that had nothing to do with the lesson (once she asked him if 91 was a prime number and, when he'd answered, she'd looked to Sun to see if Oscar was right. Neither of them knew). Third period was Pyrrha and Velvet's class, the Art of the Semblance. Oscar finally felt at place in that class, considering he'd just learned his semblance last week. Pyrrha and Velvet were kind to their friend and didn't seem intent on embarrassing him.

That was not reflected in their fourth period class, considering Yang tried not once, not twice, but **three times** to get him to fight against her in hand-to-hand combat. But fifth period was even worse considering Neo actually picked him up out of his seat and gestured for him to fight. Rachel had to drag Oscar back into his seat while Ciel slapped Neo's hand, pulling her back to the front of the room. She loudly apologized for the interruption, glaring at her girlfriend.

Sixth period, theoretical dust studies, had been good, except Winter had had the opposite approach of their friends and asked Oscar many questions and insulted him, albeit politely, whenever he'd gotten it wrong. As Oscar had left, head down, Weiss had halted him.

"Sorry for the cold shoulder. Winter just thinks maybe it'll be better if you aren't treated nicer than the other students."

Oscar rolled his eyes.

"You just have to treat me normal, Weiss."

"Mr. Pine, why are you still in here?" Winter asked.

Oscar grimaced.

"I was just leaving, Ms. Schnee!" he called, hurrying out of the room.

His seventh, and final, class period was with Ruby and Penny, who had assumed would give him some reprieve from his other, more embarrassing friends... he was wrong to hope that.

As soon as he'd stepped into the room, Penny waved at him excitedly.

"Friend Oscar! It's a pleasure to see you!"

When Oscar winced, she frowned in concern.

"Friend Oscar, are you alright? Is something hurting you? Did you trip while sparring ag-"

Ruby, for once, was the one to stop someone else from saying something tactless. Usually she was the recipient of a hand slapped over her mouth.

Penny looked down at her friend, frowning in confusion.

"Pen, how about we just start class, alright? We'll catch up with Oscar after class."

Penny beamed and nodded, causing Ruby to sigh in relief, pulling her hand away from her mouth.

"We'll speak later, Friend Oscar!" she called as she skipped back to the front of class.

Oscar grimaced.

Ruby had been very helpful at the beginning of class stopping Penny like that... but his blessing didn't last. About half way through class, the newlywed had gotten excited and forgotten herself.

"Oh, I wish I could show you guys Blake's weapon! I'll see if I can borrow it tomorrow. It's got this, like, ribbon on the end that she uses to do all sorts of cool stunts and stuff... what I'm trying to say is that not all weapons have to look like weapons to be effective! You should talk to Neo about hers! It's this tiny umbrella thing that has a giant sword in it! It's super awesome... who else... Oh! Right! Oscar, you're really good with your weapon, can I borrow it to show the class?"

Ruby excitedly looked up at her friend, who sighed, running a hand through his hair. Suddenly, Ruby seemed to realize what she'd done and she grimaced.

"I mean, uh... Mr. Pine, I've seen you use that weapon of yours before, would you mind letting me borrow it to show the class an unorthodox weapon?"

Oscar nodded, face flushing red.

"Yeah, Ru-uh, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee, you can borrow it."

The class muttered around him, and Oscar grimaced. Ruby gave him an apologetic look as she hurried up the stairs through the use of her semblance. Her powers disrupted multiple papers around her and she quietly apologized, helping the students get their things back together.

When she reached Oscar, she held out her hand, muttering an apology that he waved off.

"Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee, maybe you could use Natalie's instead. You know, because it's different too and...," Rachel trailed off, glancing at Oscar.

Ruby's eyes positively gleamed in excitement and she nodded her head.

"Yes! That would be awesome!"

Natalie seemed rather uncertain at the prospect of handing her weapon other, but still passed it to Ivy.

Their hands brushed and Ivy hesitated, looking at her with that same calm curiosity that she had had when inspecting Osca's aura.

"Natalie, are you hurt?" she asked, head tilting to the side.

Natalie flinched, pulling her hand away from Ivy.

"I, yes, yes, I am. A Grimm scratched me yesterday during initiation. It's no big deal."

Ivy frowned, but didn't push it as she passed the weapon over to Ruby.

"Did you know some of the metal used to build Ms. Polendina used to be part of a tractor? It was her nose."

Penny stared at the student, baffled.

Ruby had a similar look of confusion, but she pushed it away.

"Thank you for letting me borrow this, Natalie. I'll have it back in a minute!"

"You know, you're right, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee. There is a soul in there," Ivy remarked, staring at Penny with a friendly smile.

Ruby paused, staring at Ivy in confusion. After a moment, she shook her head and rushed down the stairs to stand in front of the class.

"Ms. Vine has kindly let me borrow her weapon, which seems to look like a," Ruby hesitated, looking down at the weapon in her hands consideringly.

The weapon was shockingly small, fitting in the palm of Ruby's hand. It actually looked like-

"a box of gum," Ruby continued, wondering if Natalie was messing with her. She glanced up at the student in question, finding the rather on edge look in her eyes. No, Natalie didn't seem like the kind of girl that would mess with a teacher like this. Didn't even look like she'd made a joke in her life.

Despite the size of the weapon, it was heavy, making even Ruby have trouble holding it up with both hands.

Rachel mouthed something to Ruby, who squinted at her.

"Open it!"

Ruby opened the gum package, watching with wide eyes as it unfolded expertly, making a low mechanical whirring sound as the pieces clicked into place. When it was done, she was left with a large pair of guns, one of which she fumbled with and barely caught with her other hand.

As the students watched in shock, Natalie called over them.

"Put them together," she advised.

Ruby did as instructed, gently pushing the two guns together. The one in her right hand seemed to stretch, reaching out to engulf the other weapon and pulling it into itself. When the process was done, Ruby was left with a large double sided sword, which she almost cut herself trying to hold. The only safe place to grip it was the middle of the weapon, because the rest was sharp enough to cut through skin (or maybe even bone... Ruby didn't want to be the one to test that out).

Ruby _beamed_ at the weapon, bouncing up and down slightly.

"Ms. Vine, this weapon is _fascinating_!" she said, taking in the coloring next. It was a dark shade of black in both assault rifle and sword form, though it had been an ocean blue when hidden as a gum package.

Natalie flinched at the loud praise, but smiled thinly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee. She's called Vespertilia."

Ruby **beamed** as she brought the weapon back up to its owner, careful not to impale herself as she did.

"She's awesome! I hope I'll get to see you use her one day!"

Ruby winced slightly. That had come out worse than it had sounded in her head, causing Oscar and Rachel to laugh while Natalie took the weapon back, clicking a button on the hilt and causing it to hold in on itself until they were left with the gum box from earlier.

Before Ruby could say anything else, the bell rang, making Natalie to jump, eyes going wide.

"Well, that's class for today! We'll try to get some other weapons to show you tomorrow!" Ruby called as the students filed out.

Oscar let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for having my back, Rachel."

"Course. That's what teams are for, right, Ozzy boy?"

"Stop calling me that."

Oscar glanced back at his other teammates, who were trailing behind.

Ivy looked around distractedly, as if marveling at something they all couldn't see. Natalie was fiddling with her weapon, rubbing her thumb against the front of it.

"You two coming?" Rachel called.

Natalie jumped, nodding quickly at Rachel. She reached her hand out tentatively to set it on Ivy's shoulder, making sure that her partner's skin was completely covered by clothing before doing so.

Ivy didn't seem to notice until she was being dragged forward.

"Natalie, your aura's really pretty, did you know that?" she commented, smiling in a way that was only a touch away from being dazed.

Natalie glanced at her, frowning.

"Thank you?"

"It's a really nice shade of pink, you know. Pink was always my favorite color. Reminds me of cute little piggies."

Natalie flushed.

"Wait, it's _pink_? Little miss I-only-wear-black has a **pink** aura?" Rachel asked, grinning.

"Yes, my aura is pink. And Ivy, didn't you eat bacon this morning?" Natalie asked, frowning.

"Oh, yes! It was very delicious. Came from a very sweet piggy."

Her team hesitated, staring at her. Ivy frowned, eyes searching them.

"Why are you all confused?" she asked.

Natalie ripped her hand from Ivy's shoulder.

"What's with you, man?! How do you just... know things?!" Natalie cried, causing many of their fellow students to glance over at them.

Ivy smiled at her partner.

"That's my semblance! I just... know things. My momma called me a witch," Ivy laughed, "and dadda called me telepathic. But you can't read the minds of things that aren't living, right? So how do I know that that wall was torn down by a Beowolf after construction had already started. Frustrated Ms. Neopolitan so much that she cut it limb from limb. I like to think of it as... a sixth sense. It's like sight and touch all mixed together until things turn dizzying and exhilerating."

Ivy laughed again, starting to skip down the hallway. Her teammates shared an uneasy look before following after her.

"Just don't go poking around our head, okay?" Natalie asked.

"I'll try. But your head is just so weird. I want to know how it ticks."

Natalie recoiled, and Ivy giggled.

"I'm just messing with you!"

Her teammates watched her continue to skip down the hallway.

"That... might be a problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the original characters aren't boring you!


	14. Dinner

Oscar fell against the bench in front of the dining table, grinning.

"I'm _starving_!" he said.

"Didn't you eat recently?" Rachel asked, grabbing her own food and setting it on her plate.

"You get used to getting free sugary snacks when you travel with Ruby," Oscar said, shrugging.

Natalie glanced at him.

"For someone who wants everyone to forget he's best friends with all the teachers, you sure mention them a lot," Natalie said.

Oscar flushed.

"Well, I did spent the last year and a half traveling across the world with them. Guess I'm kind of used to the solitude of it."

"Well get ready to be pushed out of your comfort zone because you've got some _new_ friends! Right, gals?" Rachel said, throwing an arm around Natalie.

"Please don't touch me."

"Right, sorry."

Natalie visibly relaxed once Rachel's arm had removed itself from her back, and she let out a breath, turning back to her plate.

"Here you go, Natalie," Ivy said dreamily, passing a bit of meat to Natalie.

Her partner hesitated.

"What did you do, look in my mind or something?"

"Nope! You just like steak. I remember from last night. Why would I want to go snooping around in that head of yours? Plus, that's not how my semblance works. I mean, yes, I **can** hear thoughts if I really want to, but it's far too much of a hassle," Ivy said dismissively.

Natalie stared at her.

"You can see into people's mind and it's too much of a hassle to do it?" she asked in disbelief.

"It's far less entertaining to figure people out that way. Takes all the trial and error out of it. Plus, people seem to get offended when I do it, so I tend to avoid it."

Ivy took a bite of her food, glancing at her teammates.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Dust, Ivy! I don't think I'll ever understand what goes on in that head of yours," Natalie muttered.

"That's alright, because one day I'll figure out yours," Ivy said. "And then it'll be easy for me to explain mine!"

That seemed to put Natalie even further on edge, but Ivy didn't appear to notice, happily chewing away on her vegetables.

"Did you know that plants can sense the sun? They move toward it! There's a word for it... ah, yes! Phototrophism! It's very fascinating."

Oscar shook his head sufferingly. His new teammate might be even more insane than Neo!

-

"Today was _amazing_! I got to look at weapons, talk about weapons, teach about weapons-"

"Yes, yes, we get it, you spent your entire day with weapons, just like always," Weiss said, grabbing a plate and helping herself to food.

"Well _I_ spent the entire day having to threaten people that asked me about our relationship," Blake said offhandedly, grabbing a few cookies out of her bag for Ruby, who eagerly accepted.

"Really?" Yang asked, mouth full.

Weiss grimaced in disgust.

"Yang, we've _talked_ about this. Swallow before you talk," Weiss chided, shaking her head.

Yang rolled her eyes, swallowing dramatically.

"Yes, Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee."

Weiss gave her a small glare of warning, but there was no malice to it. Yang grinned at her.

"My kids didn't say anything about it. Maybe because I was showing off my hand-to-hand combat skills so much," Yang said, growing smug at the end.

"I'm sure you intimidated a bunch of first years very thoroughly, Firecracker," Blake said, eagerly cutting up a piece of fish.

"There were some second years too!"

"I'm sure," Blake continued, smirking as she saw Yang glaring playfully.

"Guess you just weren't intimidating enough to stop them from saying anything."

"I assure you that none of them will mention it again, at least to me," Blake responded easily.

Yang grinned.

"Did you punch one?"

"Dust, Yang! We're teachers now! We can't just punch students!" Weiss cried. Her voice was loud enough to cause many other members of the faculty to look at them as well as a fair bit of students.

Yang groaned.

"Why not? So many of them are just little brats."

"You can say that again!" Nora said, dropping into the seat beside Yang. "All of mine won't stop asking me what happened next. Refuse to leave me alone! I swear I'm never getting any alone time after this. They're going to be swarming around my door like... like, uh..," Nora glanced at Ren.

"Like moths to a light," he offered, not looking up as he got his food.

Nora snapped her fingers and pointed at him.

"Yes! That! Like that!" she cried.

Sun sat down beside Jaune, shaking his head.

"One day you'll need to come up with your own metaphors, Nora," the faunus said.

"That was actually a simile," Ilia corrected.

"Nerd!" Sun cried.

"Yes, yes, as you've told me many times, I'm a nerd. Doesn't mean I'm not right though," Ilia said.

Sun rolled his eyes as he tossed an arm around her shoulders.

"You're always right. After all, you **did** pick Pyrrha and me!"

Ilia scoffed.

"I'm starting to think I should have stuck to girls," she said.

Sun put a hand against his chest.

"That's rude! You know, us guys have many redeeming qualities! Like...," Sun trailed off, considering. "Yeah, I can't think of one. Maybe you're right, Ils. But you're stuck with me now!"

Ilia laughed, leaning against his chest.

"And I wouldn't want it any other way. Even if guys **definitely** don't use enough deodorant. Or any at all."

Sun laughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah..."

Ilia grabbed her nose between her fingers, shaking her head and leaning against her girlfriend, who sat at her other side.

"Yeah, girls definitely smell better," Ilia said, burying her face against Pyrrha's shoulder.

"I seriously can't argue. Come on guys, step it up!" Sun called.

"I use deodorant! I smell just fine, right, Nora?" Jaune asked.

Nora stared at him.

"I know how you want me to answer that, but I physically can't."

Jaune looked crushed.

Nora shrugged, gesturing at Ren.

"Sorry. Only guy I know that smells like anything other than the male restrooms in Ren."

"That's true! He somehow _always_ smells like pancakes," Jaune said.

"I know! How?!" Nora cried.

"Because you have me make you pancakes all the time, day and night," Ren said calmly, taking a sip of his drink.

Ruby looked up, frowning.

"Is it just me, or are we missing like half of our usual insults? Where's team CFVY and PWNC?" the young team leader asked.

"I don't know," Yang said, shrugging.

"Ciel and Neo snuck off to make out for no less than the tenth time today," Weiss said, counting on her fingers, "Winter doesn't want to eat in the cafeteria with Penny because the students are getting too interested in her personal life, so they're eating in team PWNC's room. Team CFVY is... I don't know, somewhere being team CFVY."

Ruby laughed, leaning against Weiss.

"That's a good point, by the way. Nora, how much did you tell them about our personal lives?" Pyrrha asked, frowning.

"Uh, about all of it up until we left Atlas," Nora responded, shrugging. "We're a bit behind schedule, considering this whole story was supposed to take no less than a day, but it'll probably take a week at least."

"That's because you keep slowing us down for dramatic effect!" Sun cried.

"This story _deserves_ to be told dramatically, Wukong!" Nora snapped.

Sun was about to respond, but Nora suddenly pushed herself to her feet.

"Is that Ozzy?" she asked, eyes scouring the cafeteria.

Ren and Jaune both reached up to pull Nora down to her seat.

"Nora, you've been embarrassing him from the moment we got here. Give him a break," Jaune said.

Nora huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Fine! I'll give him ten minutes tops."

That was the best they were going to get.

-

"Hey, Ives, is Oscar thinking about Whitley again?" Rachel asked, grinning.

Oscar jumped, flushing. He'd been staring out at nothing in particular for the past minute and a half, admittedly thinking about his boyfriend.

"Did you know that there's approximately seven trillion nerves in the human body?" Ivy offered, smiling at Rachel distractedly.

"That's not what I asked-you know what? Never mind, I'm just going to have to get used to that, won't I?" Rachel asked.

Ivy just smiled back at her.

"He was thinking of Whitley, yes."

"Can you _please_ stay out of people's minds?!" Natalie snapped.

"I didn't have to look in his head to tell that. Look at his dopey little smile," Ivy said.

Natalie didn't look anywhere but at Ivy, glaring darkly.

Ivy just laughed.

Natalie shook her head, rolling her shoulders, which Ivy had noticed she did when she was nervous. Like right now. Actually, Natalie was nervous most of the time.

"Where did the Grimm scratch you?" Ivy asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked at her partner.

"What?" Natalie asked, frowning.

"The Grimm. Where did it scratch you?" Ivy asked again.

Natalie's eyes widened.

"Oh, right, the Grimm. It scratched my back," she said.

"Maybe we should have Mr. Arc look at it," Oscar suggested.

Natalie shook her head quickly.

"No, it's alright, I'm fine. It'll heal quickly."

Ivy reached her hand out to set it on Natalie's arm. Touching others was a subconscious action for Ivy at this point, something she'd been doing ever since she'd learned about her semblance at the tender age of five.

Natalie flinched, pulling her arm away quickly.

"I said don't touch me, alright?" she snapped.

Ivy nodded.

"Did you know that clams can get so tense that when they're forced to open up, they die?" Ivy asked, voice once again gaining its dreamy quality.

Natalie glared at her.

"I'm not a damn clam, Ivy," she snapped.

Her partner smiled at her, a light of innocence shining in her eyes.

"I never said you were."

-

"Girlfriend Winter, I heard you were mean to your students today when they asked about our relationship," Penny said, sitting cross legged on the bed.

Winter glanced up at her.

"Where did you hear that from?" she said, trying to avoid Penny's inevitable question.

"Friend Weiss told me about it. Why were you mean to the student? Are you not happy with our relationship?"

Winter's eyes widened, and she almost choked on her drink.

"What? Of course not. Where did you get such an insane idea?"

Penny played with the blanket underneath her, shrugging.

"I just firmly believe that my personal life is none of my student's concern, and they were being very callous toward it."

Winter reached forward to set her hand on Penny's own, making her girlfriend smile her brightest grin.

"How so?"

Winter had to look away from Penny's innocent eyes, boring into her so questioningly.

"They asked if I ever told you how I felt after the fall of Beacon. Asked if you'd rejected me, and if that was why I am so mean."

Penny frowned.

"You're not mean, Girlfriend Winter!"

Winter looked at her girlfriend skeptically.

"You're not! You're just very defensive and protective! You've been hurt before, and you're scared to let anyone in. But you're one of the kindest people I know."

Penny smiled at her, squeezing her hand gently. Winter still marveled at how much better Penny had gotten with the small signs of affection. When they'd first started dating, Penny's hugs would be painfully tight, the kisses impossibly long when her girlfriend forgot that Winter had to breathe, and she had seemed to think that hand holding was some sort of feat of strength (at least that's how it had felt when Penny had almost squeezed the life out of Winter's hand, though Winter had hardly had the heart to tell her).

Penny moved closer to set her head against Winter's shoulder, expression growing contemplative.

"Girlfriend Winter, why would they ask about your feelings for me after the fall of Beacon? We started dating only after we fled Atlas."

Winter glanced at Penny, expression growing almost nervous.

"Because I had feelings for you back then as well."

"Romantic ones?"

Winter smiled just slightly, eyes melting as she looked at Penny's innocent expression.

"Yes, romantic ones."

"But the fall of Beacon was a great deal earlier than we started dating. Why did you not tell me then?" Penny asked.

Winter held in an eye roll, reminding herself to be patient. It always came easier to her when Penny was nearby.

 _I know how long it was before we started dating, trust me,_ Winter thought, but she didn't let herself say it.

"Because I wasn't certain that you felt the same way," Winter said instead.

Penny nodded, eyes growing wide in realization.

"Oh, I see. So you gained romantic feelings for me during the fall of Beacon, but were worried I didn't feel that same."

Winter quietly laughed at her girlfriend's innocence.

"Penny, I've had romantic feelings for you far longer than that. Why do you think I was so desperate to save your life during the tournament?"

Penny stared at her, frowning.

"You have? When did you realize you had romantic feelings for me?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in the adorable way she did when she was attempting to understand something new.

Winter flushed slightly, causing Penny to giggle.

"The second time we met."

Penny seemed to be trying to remember the details of the event, and was clearly going through her data banks of memory.

"It was a month before the tournament," Winter began, knowing that she was sentencing herself to embarrassment, "and I stepped out of the airship. You ran straight into me, and we both fell to the ground. The first time we'd met, Ironwood had told me what you were, and since then I'd dismissed you as just another piece of mindless machinery. An advanced machine, but still just that."

Penny frowned, and Winter flushed further as she continued the story.

"But when you scrambled to your feet and awkwardly tried to help me up as well, I finally had the chance to get a good, up close look at you. And when I saw your eyes... I could sense that there was something more there. That you had a soul inside of that metal exterior, and the more you apologized, the more I felt myself liking you. By the time the general and I left, I was yours."

Penny **beamed** at her, moving closer and wrapping her arms around Winter's waist.

"I love you," Penny said fondly.

Winter blushed deeper, making Penny giggle.

"I love you, too," Winter admitted.

"Did you know that you're adorable?" Penny asked.

Winter glanced at her, raising a single eyebrow.

"You act all cold and distant, but underneath you're just a little cuddly teddy bear."

Had anyone else been in the room, Winter would have avidly denied it, and perhaps deftly removed Penny from her close proximity. Instead, she found herself kissing Penny, and her girlfriend giggled against her lips.

-

Natalie reached for a plate of food, and her hand brushed against Ivy.

Ivy frowned, eyes fluttering shut as she shut out all of the other distractions of the world around her. She ignored the mass of people that sent out so many conflicting emotions and thoughts that it made her dizzy, ignored the wood beneath her, ignored the food on her plate. She focused on Natalie's hand against her, diving into the sensations that the other girl had accidentally revealed to Ivy.

Ivy frowned as she felt the scratches on Natalie's back. They were certainly there, but they weren't close together, like one would expect from Grimm claws. There were only two scratches, and they were evenly spread out across her back, just shy of her shoulder blades. Each went down from there to the bottom of her rib cage, and they **stung**. Natalie's back felt like it was on fire, and the itchy fabric rubbing against the scratches only served to make it worse. There was a sense of l-

Natalie realized her mistake less than a second after it had happened, and she _yanked_ her arm away from Ivy, glaring at her. Ivy's eyes opened again, and she smiled at Natalie sweetly.

"Is something wrong?" Ivy asked, tilting her head to the side.

Natalie grumbled something that Ivy didn't quite catch and shook her head.

The barrage of sensations came rushing back to Ivy, and it would have stunned any normal person. For her, it just elicited a giggle as she felt a slight buzz in her bones, her blood seeming to pump faster through her veins, though her heart rate stayed the same.

Natalie shook her head. That couldn't have been long enough for her partner to have felt anything. It had been less than a second.

And yet Ivy looked at her with a kind, if somewhat dazed, smile as she swayed back and forth as if to a music that nobody else in the cafeteria could hear.

Natalie shook her head, turning back to her food. She rolled her shoulders, hoping to relieve some of the stiffness. It only helped a little, but it was, as always, the best she could hope for.

Oscar glanced at his teammates, frowning as he saw Natalie's sullen smile as she picked at her food.

Rachel exchanged a look with Oscar, and the two frowned.

In Oscar's experience, teammates were supposed to know everything about each other, and yet one of his own teammates was hiding something from them.

But, to be fair, they'd been teammates for a little under twenty-four hours, so he couldn't blame her. The best he cold hope for is that one day, after trust was built up, Natalie would feel comfortable enough to tell them what was wrong.

Ivy continued to sway to the pulsing of the room, feeling the swelling and shrinking of the room around her, creating a sort of messed up heartbeat that played in the background of her mind. Ivy liked to call it the world's music. If she focused, she could hear the individual song of a person or object, could hear it's past and present (though sadly never future). It wasn't exactly like she could see their emotions or their past, but she could _feel_ it. She'd never met anyone else who described their semblance that way, or even looked at the world like her. But that didn't make Ivy uncomfortable. If anything, it was _comforting_ to know that nobody else looked at Remnant like she did, because it would be all too easy to destroy it if they did.

Ivy turned to her friends, smiling in her dreamy way.

"You know, I'm a wonderful masseuse. Fighting Grimm can be hard work, and my semblance lets me know exactly what hurts. I'd be more than happy to help any pain."

Oscar and Rachel looked at her weirdly, though they awkwardly thanked her.

Natalie, however, whipped her head around to glare at her partner.

Ivy just continued to sway back and forth, smiling gently.

Natalie would tell them when she was ready, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be encouraged by Ivy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses as to what's up with Natalie?


	15. The Art of Secret Keep

Ruby bounced to her feet, causing her wives and her sister stand up and follow her.

Weiss reached her hand out to grab Blake's waist, pulling her around so that she could get a kiss. She tried to go onto the tips of her toes, but found that she was already on them with heels on.

Blake stared down at her, biting her lip as she fought off a smirk.

"Something wrong, Angel?"

Weiss glared at her.

"You know exactly what's wrong," Weiss snapped.

Blake laughed, leaning down and giving Weiss a quick peck on the lips.

Ruby and Yang had turned around to stare at them, and Yang was quietly snickering.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Why did I agree to marry two stupidly tall girls?" Weiss asked, shaking her head.

"Aw, that was mean. I think you should give me a kiss to make up for that," Yang said. She didn't lean down, and Weiss glared up at her.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, actually, I do."

"When I find that when my two boyfriends are too tall, I just climb them like they're a pair of big ass trees," Nora said.

"It's true," Ren said.

"I just ask them to lean down," Ilia said.

"Or we pick her up," Sun noted.

Weiss huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Don't pick me up, it's humiliating-"

Weiss let out a quiet squeal as Yang picked her up, grinning as she connected their lips.

When they pulled apart a moment later, Weiss flushing deeply, Yang laughed.

"Angel, when you married us you _knew_ what you'd be getting yourself into, and you chose it anyway."

Yang held Weiss down slightly, and Blake fought back a grin as she claimed a small kiss from a squirming Weiss.

"Why do you three find it _so_ funny to make me embarrassed?" Weiss asked.

"Because you're always so cute afterward!" Ruby chimed in, grinning.

"Ruby, you're barely taller than me."

"In heels, yes. But when you take them off," Ruby grinned, "you're just so _tiny_!"

"Hence why I wear the heels!" Weiss hissed.

"But you really do look adorable without them," Blake added.

Weiss flushed, glaring at them all.

"Yang, put me down," she muttered.

"She's like the perfect spooning size. So tiny and cute," Ruby said. Blake and Yang nodded in agreement, the latter laughing quietly.

Behind them, their friends were laughing at the former heiress, and she sent them a scathing glare as Yang set her back on her feet.

"You three are insufferable."

"And yet you suffer us, because you _loooove_ us," Yang said, grinning.

Weiss flushed, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know it. We have a legally binding contract that says it."

Ruby giggled as she grabbed Weiss' hand, tugging her out of the cafeteria.

-

Oscar stood up quickly, grabbing Rachel by the shoulder and starting to pack up hurriedly.

"Let's go."

"I'm still eating," Natalie said, shoving more food into her mouth.

"Nora looks like she's about to come over here. I don't want to get publicly embarrassed again."

Ivy grabbed one more bite of her food and stood.

"Natalie, if you eat more of that you'll get a stomach ache."

She looked up from her food, glaring at Ivy.

"How do you know that?"

"I know things. That's my thing," Ivy laughed at her own words, holding out her hand to Natalie, who glared at her.

"I said don't touch me, Ivy, what do you not understand about that?" she snapped.

Ivy shrugged, stepping back and swaying on her feet as Natalie stood, shoving one final bite into her mouth before following Oscar.

As soon as they exited the cafeteria, Oscar broke into a run, and his teammates followed after him, laughing.

Ivy grabbed Rachel by the hand as they raced down the hall, grinning at the excitement and exhilaration that coursed through her twofold.

Natalie glared at her hand, shaking her head.

"I'm glad we're out of that cafeteria. It was so loud," Natalie said, running a hand through her hair.

Ivy glanced back at her, smiling gently.

Natalie was tall, taller than the rest of her teammates by a significant margin, with chin length dark black hair and eyes that almost matched. Her clothing was just as dark as her other features, and she had a persona that could almost be considered... horrifying? She had on a choker necklace that screamed _'stay away from me or else I will **actually** choke you.'_

Despite her appearance as someone who could believably moonlight as an axe-wielding maniac murderer, Ivy thought that it was nothing short of hilarious. She'd seen a bit of Natalie from her few physical touches with the other girl, and new beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was nothing more than an act, designed specifically to scare people away.

Ivy herself wore a pink shirt underneath her red jacket, which contrasted her blue leggings. She wore the outfit with pride, always saying that the 'aura' of the clothes was more important than how fashionable (or unfashionable, as Rachel would say) they were. She had sky blue eyes and burgundy red hair that could only be distinguished from her jacket due to the mass of curls.

Beside Ivy, still holding her hand, was Rachel, who had dark brown hair and vibrant green eyes that sparkled with a light of perpetual excitement for life. She glanced at Ivy and gave her a wide grin, tugging her along. As always, Rachel wore a white undershirt and a pale yellow jacket that complemented her black pants. She was undoubtedly the most fashionable of their team, and she wore it like a badge of honor. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that fell down to approximately the middle of her back, and it made a _thump, thump, thump_ against her as she ran.

Ivy glanced at at Natalie, who let herself smile. That was a rare occurrence for the other girl, and she stopped as soon as she saw that Ivy was looking at her.

The four skidded to a stop in front of their dorm room and as Oscar fumbled to open it, Ivy turned to face Natalie, tilting her head to the side.

"Why don't you like me?" she asked bluntly.

Natalie was caught off guard, as Ivy had planned, and she stared down at her partner in confusion.

"What? I don't not like you," Natalie paused to consider her words, "I mean, I like you, as much as I can like someone I met yesterday, that is."

"Then why do you act like you don't?"

"I don't... dust, why am I on trial all the sudden?! I like you alright, okay, Ivy? I just... don't touch me, okay?"

Ivy nodded, smiling up at her partner.

"That can be arranged, I suppose."

Natalie frowned.

"Are you making a joke?"

Ivy giggled.

"Dust, I can't tell with you, I swear."

"Did you know that all things are and aren't until we're forced to choose? Quantum physics."

Her teammates all stared at her, and Ivy laughed again.

She stepped into the room, and Natalie followed her after a moment, frowning.

When she stepped into the room, Natalie squinted, holding her hand up in front of her eyes.

"Dust, why's it so bright in here?"

Her teammates glanced at the open windows.

"What are you, a vampire?" Rachel asked as Oscar closed the blinds.

Natalie glared at her vehemently, stalking over to her bed and sitting down. Ivy noticed that she didn't lean against anything. She hadn't all day... likely because of her throbbing back. Ivy shrugged, turning to her things again.

Natalie relaxed as Ivy turned away. She didn't like the attention of her new partner at all. She was **far** too insightful. Made hiding things a pain.

Natalie rolled her shoulders, stretching her back slightly with a grimace. She forced herself not to think about the pain. It didn't matter, she was used to it. She clenched her jaw and shook her head, pulling out her scroll to distract herself.

-

Yang opened the door to their new room, and she grinned broadly.

"Oh, Glynda, I judged you _far_ too harshly," she said, falling against the only bed in the room. It was a large one, bigger than a king size, and would let the four of them sleep in the same bed together nicely.

"Too bad it's just a _little_ too close to the JNIPRS dorm," Yang continued. "I mean, not for me, but Weiss..."

Weiss flushed, glaring at her wife.

"Yang, there's children in the building," she hissed.

"Yeah, across the school! Besides, how do you think those little critters were made?"

Blake and Weiss flushed, the former heiress throwing a pillow at Yang's face.

"You're disgusting."

"Probably. So how was school today, sweetie," Yang said, grinning.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"It was fine. Though Winter chewed one kid out so bad I've half a mind to think they have teeth marks," Weiss said, taking off her heels.

"Sounds like her," Blake said, grinning as Weiss walked through the room without her shoes. All three of Weiss' wives watched her, and she flushed, glaring at each of them.

"I'm not **that** short, okay?!" she snapped.

"Angel, I love you, but you're shorter than Rubes. That's _saying_ something," Yang said.

Ruby rolled her eyes and flopped down onto the bed.

"School was **great**! I got to spend the whole day with Penny, and we taught people about weapons! Also, I realized that my two best friends are made of metal."

"Yes, yes, we **know** that if you could you'd marry weapons instead of us, you don't have to rub it in," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"That's not true!" Ruby cried.

Blake and Weiss stared at her.

"I could marry a Crescent Rose too! I already married two people!" Ruby said happily.

"Does she realize how lucky she is we haven't divorced her already?" Weiss asked Blake.

"Probably not."

Ruby leaned against Weiss, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"I'm very lucky."

"Not as lucky as you were last week!" Yang said, shooting finger guns at her sister.

There was a long moment of silence, and Yang grinned broadly.

"Blake, why didn't we just marry each other?" Weiss asked.

"Because we got suckered into loving these two idiots."

"You know it!" Yang cried.


	16. Lessons Learned

Natalie listened to the reverberations that shot through the room, echoing back at her. She had finally laid down on the bed, putting her weight on her side. It had been almost a year since... and she still wasn't used to it. She wondered if she ever would be. Probably not.

"Ivy, I swear that if you touch me with that hand, I'm chopping it off," Natalie said, not opening her eyes as Ivy's hand hovered over her.

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Sure you weren't," Natalie said, eyes still shut.

"Why do you like the dark?" Ivy asked. Natalie knew she'd tilted her head once more.

Natalie stiffened.

"I just do, alright?"

"I never liked the dark. I always used a night light when I was a kid," Ivy said contemplatively.

"Is there a point to this conversation?" Natalie asked.

"Not all roads have a destination."

"That's the point of road," Natalie said.

"Sometimes the journey's the part that's really important," Ivy said.

"Oh my _dust_! You're like the physical embodiment of a children's show!" Natalie sat up, eyes opening. "You spout off with random facts, give weird moral lessons through metaphors, and you're always smiling! What's your problem?!"

Ivy bounced back and forth, smiling gently.

"If you think about it, my problem's the world's problem, really. I can feel it all, and I just have to sort through it. Is this really me talking, or is it the product of my given stimuli that make me react? I am more at the whims of the cosmos than any person I've ever met, except maybe Oscar. I know what it's like to feel like everything's crumbling around you, like the world's too much for you to hold."

Natalie stared at Ivy with wide eyes. Ivy never stopped smiling as she spoke, and she leaned forward, putting her face less than a centimeter away from Natalie's. Their noses almost touched.

"So don't you dare think that I'm just some cartoon, what did you call it? Oh, yes, some children's show. Because I've seen both the worst and the best of people with my own two eyes. And you know what I decided? I decided to look on the bright side! You, however," Ivy raised her hand and slowly moved it toward Natalie, who watched it intently out of the corner of her eyes, "have been hurt somehow, and decided to see the worst in humanity!"

Ivy poked Natalie on the nose.

"Boop!"

Shock flowed from Natalie into Ivy like a pulse, and Ivy giggled, pulling away.

She turned to face a flabbergasted Oscar and Rachel.

Ivy tilted her head to the side with a wide grin.

"Is something wrong?"

Natalie's eyes trailed Ivy as she bounced across the room, coming to a halt at her bed and sitting down happily. Natalie felt like she should... say something, should defend herself against Ivy's words that were so shockingly true.

"I don't... always see the worst in people, you know," she finally said.

"Yes, you do. You see me as a threat to your oh so special secrets. Think I can get too close because of my semblance. You see Oscar as a suck up that wants everyone to know he's best friends with our teachers. And you see Rachel as the archetypal popular girl that will talk about you behind your back."

Natalie blinked owlishly at her.

Oscar and Rachel glanced at Natalie.

"How... did you-"

"Yes, yes, I can sense portions of your thoughts, how dare I accidentally use my semblance that's always on and at the ready," Ivy waved her hand dismissively. "The point of the matter is that yes, maybe your fears are right. Maybe Rachel or I will betray you. Maybe everyone in the world is secretly out to get you... but is that how you want to live your life? I sure don't. I like my life how it is. I might get burnt, and I might trust the people I shouldn't... but at least I trust _someone_. When I look at Oscar, I see a boy that's been through hell and back and just wants to be a normal kid, but struggles to fit in. When I look at Rachel, I see a person who is genuinely trying to be kind and open with her new teammates. And when I look at you, Natalie," Ivy's blue eyes stared at her intently, and Natalie found herself wondering if Ivy was seeing into her very soul, "I see a little girl that was hurt and is afraid of ever opening up again, so she locks herself away. I don't know you very well, but I do know that if you continue down this path... it'll only lead you to heartbreak."

Natalie stared at her, eyes wide, heart hammering in her chest.

Ivy sniffed the air, and she grinned.

"Oh, I just love the smell of fire! I wonder if we could make some s'mores!"

Natalie realized, with a start, that she'd set her textbook on fire, and she cursed loudly, racing over to it and putting it out.

She did that sometimes when her emotions got too out of hand.

"Did you set that book on fire?!" Rachel cried.

Natalie nodded sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah. That's... that's my semblance."

"Oh, look! She's _sharing_!" Ivy cried happily.

Natalie didn't know how to respond to that. She often found herself at a loss for words around Ivy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I loved writing it, though, because I have been both of them in this exact situation, and it's fun to write that. When someone was an Ivy to my Natalie once... it changed my life, so maybe it kinda spoke to someone, at least a little bit


	17. Night Terrors

Penny smiled, looking down at her girlfriend. Winter had fallen asleep on her shoulder, again. This happened a lot, even though Winter would always deny it. Penny leaned back against the bed, throwing the blanket over the two of them.

The door opened, and Neo strode in with a smug smirk. She had her arm slung around Ciel's shoulders as she all but strutted inside. Neo wore her girlfriend's beret, and Ciel's hair was messed up, clearly from Neo running her hand through it. When the two made out, Neo loved to make Ciel look as messy as possible. Penny thought it was so that Neo could show that Neo was the **only** person that could completely break Ciel's cold exterior.

Penny waved at them, holding one finger up against her lips and gesturing at Winter. As if knowing that Penny was up to something, Winter curled up closer to her, breath coming in a slow and steady rhythm against Penny's collarbone.

Neo fumbled with her pocket before taking her scroll out and snapping a picture.

 _'Yang's going to love this,'_ she signed once she'd sent the photo.

Penny laughed silently, reaching one hand up so that she could run it over Winter's face. Winter smiled in her sleep at the gentle touch, leaning into it. Penny still didn't understand how Winter could enjoy sleeping on her shoulder considering the fact that she was **literally** made of metal, but Winter never complained and even seemed to actively seek out the opportunity to do so.

Penny settled down in bed as Neo and Ciel made their way across the dorm room. Neo tripped over something Penny couldn't quite see, eliciting a loud scraping noise.

Winter made a small 'mmmh' sound in her sleep, but didn't wake up.

"How can a mute woman be so loud?!" Ciel hissed in Neo's ear, pulling her girlfriend toward the other bed.

Neo just grinned at her, settling down beside her girlfriend.

"Gimme that," Ciel muttered, hand reaching forward and snatching her hat off of Neo's head.

Neo grinned and moved closer to her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her closer. She nuzzled against Ciel's neck, making her laugh quietly.

"Quit it, you're going to wake up Winter, and you _know_ how cranky Winter is when you wake her up suddenly. And it's even **worse** when she realizes we knew she was cuddling with Penny."

Neo nodded at the sage advice, pulling back just slightly and smiling as she held Ciel around the waist loosely. Ciel turned in her embrace, letting herself sink into Neo's arms. She put her hands on top of Neo's gently, rubbing her thumb against the back of her palm.

Neo tapped her hand three times with her pointer finger gently.

"I love you, too."

-

Yang pulled out her scroll and grinned.

"Hey, Angel, your sister looks just like you when she sleeps!" Yang said, showing Weiss the picture Neo had sent her.

Weiss stared at it.

"We can't ever let her know you have that picture."

-

Oscar pulled out his scroll as he heard it buzzing, and he grinned. He ran a hand through his hair and straightened his jacket.

He took a deep breath and put on his best smile as he answered the phone call.

"Hey, Whit-Whit!" he said, glancing to the side at his teammates, who were all watching him.

"Hello, Oscar," Whitley said. His formal tone was undermined by his wide smile.

The three girls scrambled onto Oscar's bed to get a better look at the boy.

"Oh my dust! You're actually dating Whitley Schnee!" Rachel cried.

Whitley frowned, glancing at his boyfriend.

"Oscar, who are these people?"

"These people," Rachel said, "are his new teammates! I'm Rachel, that's crazy pants mcgoo, and she's goth emo girl (trademarked)."

Oscar burst out laughing while their teammates glared at Rachel.

"That's Natalie and Ivy," Oscar said once he'd stopped laughing.

Whitley looked at the three girls.

"Oscar, why do the crazies gravitate to you?"

Oscar sighed.

"I honestly don't know."

-

Natalie awoke in a cold sweat, panting with her arms wrapped around her back, fingers digging into skin as she gasped for breath raggedly. She reached one hand up to wipe at her eyes, glad that it was dark in the dorm room. It was also silent, so she assumed that she hadn't woken up.

She let out a sigh, shakily reaching one hand up to run through her hair.

The scars on her back throbbed dully, and she ignored it. The screams echoed in her head. _Her_ screams.

Natalie rolled over in bed, shoving her head into her pillow and forcing herself to breathe. She was so distracted by the chore of breathing that she didn't notice the approaching footsteps.

"Natalie?" a quiet voice asked.

She jumped, breathing becoming more ragged as she sat up.

"What? Ivy? What do you want?" Natalie asked, rubbing at her face.

"Are you alright?" Ivy asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Natalie scooted away from her.

"Do I look alright? Just... go back to sleep."

Ivy reached her hand out to touch Natalie's back, and she flinched.

Ivy stopped, instead moving her hand toward Natalie's own.

Natalie's breath hitched and she pulled away.

"I'm... sorry. I'll go back to bed."

Ivy stood, and Natalie found herself speaking without her consent.

"Wait..."

Ivy stopped immediately.

"You... can stay."

Ivy sat down by the side of the bed hesitantly.

She reached out and put her hand on Natalie's arm, though she didn't touch skin, the shirt separating them.

"Would you like to talk abou-"

"Do you ever shut up?" Natalie asked, though there wasn't any bite in it.

"I've been told that I don't."

Natalie laughed quietly, shaking her head.

Ivy slowly laid down at Natalie's side, careful not to physically touch her.

Natalie appreciated the company, and her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"You're having a panic attack," Ivy said.

"You're very astute."

"It woke me up," Ivy continued.

Natalie frowned.

"Oh, right, the semblance. Sorry about that."

"No. I'm glad! It's good to know that I was right about you."

Natalie raised an eyebrow, finding that he racing pulse had finally calmed.

"How so?"

"There is some good in you! Therefore, my philosophy is better."

"That's quite a leap."

"Did you know that frogs can jump forty-four times their body length?"

"How many damn trivia facts do you know?!"

"It's quite easy to know trivia facts when you can literally sense them."

"You know what? Forget I asked."


	18. An Enlightening Talk

Yang grumbled as Blake tried to extract herself from her arms.

"Yang, we're going to be late for school," Blake said.

"I'm not a student."

A beat of silence.

"Oh, dust, I'm a teacher," Yang cursed, forcing herself to stand up, yawning.

Weiss grumbled and grabbed onto Blake as she tried to get up.

"Why do you three never let me up in the morning?" Blake asked.

"Because you're just so comfy," Ruby said from Weiss' other side.

Blake gently removed her wife's arm from around her waist, slipping out of the bed.

"Come on, I'm serious, we're going to be late," Blake said.

Ruby curled up closer to Weiss.

"Which would mean we couldn't have breakfast."

Ruby's eyes shot open and she shot out of bed, making Weiss groan.

"When I met you, I would have sworn on my life that Weiss was the morning person of this group," Yang said.

Weiss glared at her as she crawled out of bed. Her hair was matted, she she groaned, hand slapping against the bedside table in front of her until she grabbed a hair brush, which she lazily brought up to her head.

Blake rolled her eyes, snatching the hair brush out of Weiss hands.

"Hey," Weiss muttered sleepily.

Blake sat down behind her wife, running the brush gently through her hair.

Weiss smiled and leaned back against Blake gently.

"If I let you brush your own hair we might really be late," Blake said, grabbing a hair tie from her wife's hand.

Weiss fell closer against Blake.

"Sit up," the faunus instructed.

Weiss grumbled, not moving, and Blake sighed in resignation. She rolled her eyes as she struggled to fix Weiss' hair with the other girl all but laying in her lap.

"You two coming?" Yang asked from the door.

Blake grinned when she finished Weiss' hair.

"Okay, Angel, I'm done," she said gently.

Weiss was snoring gently in her arms, and Blake rolled her eyes, standing up and setting her wife down on the ground.

Ruby shook Weiss, who opened her eyes wearily.

"Weiss, you gotta get dressed," Ruby said, grinning down at her.

Weiss yawned, rubbing her hand over her face.

"Right, right"

"And the sooner you do, the sooner you can have coffee!" Ruby said happily.

Weiss smiled tiredly at that, moving toward her clothes.

-

Weiss yawned as Ruby slid a cup of coffee in front of her, giving the team leader a kind smile.

"I love you."

"Is she talking about me or the coffee?" Ruby asked.

"I can love two things," Weiss responded, taking a sip of her drink.

"I think that would make four, actually," Blake said.

"It's too early in the morning for math," Weiss responded.

"It's _always_ too early in the morning for math," Yang said. "Even at night."

"That makes no sense," Blake said.

"I can't deal with your squabbling until after I've had my morning coffee, so please be quiet," Weiss said.

As if summoned by the words, Nora bounced into the cafeteria, joining their team at the faculty table.

"Did someone say squabbling?! I love squabbling!"

"Ren, Jaune, I swear if you two don't get your girlfriend to shut up in the next five minutes, I'm taking her kneecaps," Weiss muttered.

"Hey! That's **my** threat!" Nora whined.

"Consider it stolen."

"You really are an Ice Queen," Nora muttered.

"Dust! When are you going to let that die?!" Weiss cried.

"Never," Nora said.

"If she was an Ice Queen, and she got married... does that make Ruby, Yang, and Blake Ice Queens too?" Sun asked.

"Based on normal monarchy structures, they would either be princess consorts or queen consorts to the Ice Queen," Ren said, taking a bite of his toast.

The group glanced at him.

"Does that make Blake a _double_ princess?" Sun asked.

Ilia choked on her drink, laughing. Pyrrha patted her on the back until Ilia was able to breathe properly again.

Blake bristled, glaring at Sun.

"I told you I'm not a princess."

"You say that, but you're the daughter of a king," Sun said.

"Chieftain," Blake corrected.

"Same difference," Sun said, waving his hand around dismissively, almost hitting Jaune in the face, "the point is, you're a princess."

"Sun, we've been over this a dozen times," Blake said. "I. Am. **Not**. A. Princess."

Yang grinned.

 _This'll show them who can flirt,_ Yang thought smugly.

"You're my princess," Yang said.

Blake looked at her with a blank stare.

Yang gave her a wide grin and a finger gun.

"Never say that again," Blake instructed.

"You're the ones always saying that I can't flirt, but when I finally do it well, you tell me _not_ to flirt?! I can't win!" Yang cried.

"That was _not_ good flirting," Weiss said, sipping her coffee.

"Doesn't matter. The point is, we're all friends with a queen, two princess consorts, and a double princess!" Sun cried.

Blake groaned, shaking her head.

-

"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. Your semblance lets you make fire," Rachel said, swallowing a large piece of food as she spoke, "but you have to absorb the heat first? How is that even useful?"

Natalie raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I can... intensify the heat once I've absorbed it."

Natalie took a long sip of her drink before holding out a hand, fire flickering to life in it. Rachel watched it in awe while Ivy giggled, raising her hands beside Natalie's like it was a campfire. Natalie closed her hand suddenly, the fire disappearing instantly.

"Why'd you set your textbook on fire last night?" Oscar asked.

Natalie flushed, cheeks turning red.

"That was... an accident. That sometimes happens when-"

In front of her, her toast caught on fire, and she cursed, slapping her hand forward and slapping the flames out. She pulled back her hand, completely burn free.

"Dust," Natalie muttered.

Rachel's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh my dust!" she cried, starting to laugh.

Natalie glared at her darkly.

"Don't," she warned, cheeks turning red again.

"It _is_ heat!" Rachel said, cackling.

Oscar frowned in confusion.

"I'm lost," he said.

Ivy laughed, leaning toward him.

"When Natalie blushes, she starts fires on accident. Rachel thinks it's because it creates heat."

Natalie clenched her fist as she focused on keeping her semblance dormant.

Rachel's witch laughter echoed through the cafeteria.

"Hold on, hold on! I've got a battle strategy! So when the Grimm's coming toward us, we just start complimenting Natalie! Like Ivy did last night!" Rachel cried.

Natalie scowled at her. Rachel took a deep breath to compose herself, turning to face her teammate with as close to a serious expression as she could.

"Hey, Nat, you're a wonderful person and I'm glad you're on my team," Rachel said.

Natalie flushed, glaring at her.

Rachel started to cackle.

"Nat, careful, your eggs look a little burnt."

She jumped, looking at her plate and finding that the eggs were on fire.

"Dust," she cursed, slamming her hand on the food to put out the flames.

"Yes! It _works_!" Rachel cried. "Ozzy, this can be our new strategy! Compliment her until the burns the Grimm to ashes!"

Natalie groaned.

Ivy reached forward, not looking at her hands as she poured her partner more coffee.

"Did you know that coffee has an average pH level of five?" Ivy asked.

Natalie shook her head, cupping the cup with both hands and leeching the heat from the container as she all but inhaled the scalding coffee.

"I do know it's really warm though," Natalie responded.

When she'd finished her drink, she set her hand on the coffee pot. A minute later, another student grabbed the pot and poured themselves a drink.

"Why's this coffee ice cold?!"

Natalie snickered into her drink.

Oscar glanced at his teammate, raising an eyebrow. Natalie smirked.

"The average human has a temperature of ninety-eight point six degrees Fahrenheit, thirty-seven degrees Celsius," Ivy said idly.

Natalie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"I said I don't like to be touched. Also, I have to _absorb_ the heat, Ivy. If I did that with one of you, it could be deadly."

"Yet another great way to stop our enemies!" Rachel cried excitedly.

-

As the four exited the cafeteria, early so as to avoid Nora, Rachel raced down the hall, calling over her shoulder, "Be right back! Don't leave without me!"

A minute later, she ran back, carrying a blanket, which she then threw over Natalie.

"You gotta get your strength up! I heard we're actually going to get to spar today!" Rachel cried excitedly.

Natalie glanced at the blanket, holding it up disdainfully. It was a bright shade of pink, flowers running along its trim.

"Pink's not really my color," Natalie said, moving to take the blanket off.

"It's literally your aura color," Rachel said, voice monotone as she stared back at her teammate.

"You're wearing it."

"No way."

"You're wearing it or I'll break your most sacred rule."

To punctuate the threat, Rachel raised her finger and held it dangerously close to Natalie's hand, causing her to flinch.

"Fine. Fine! Just get me a different blanket."

Rachel considered, tapping her finger against her chin in thought.

"Fine. But you're wearing it all day!"

Natalie groaned.

"Did you know that the planet travels one point six million miles every day? That's two point six million kilometers."

"Ivy, why in the world would I know that?" Natalie asked, taking the flowery blanket off and tossing it at Oscar, who fumbled to catch it.

Ivy just laughed, swaying back and forth.

"Well, you know it now, don't you?"

"Unfortunately."


	19. Planning

First period was easy for Oscar. The only hiccup had been when Ilia had completely frozen in front of the large group of students and Blake had had to cover for her. Whoever had decided to have them teach a class together was off their rocker, but they'd managed to handle it alright... mostly.

Second period was, as Oscar was coming to expect, worse.

Nora had bounded up to Oscar like an excited puppy, skidding to a stop at his side happily.

"Ozzy! You're going to love today's lecture! You're _in_ it!"

Oscar's eyes widened.

"Uh... can we exclude the parts of the story I'm in, please?" he asked, flushing. His teammates watched, Natalie and Rachel smirking while Ivy smiled distantly.

"No can do, Oscar! You did some pretty interesting stuff," Sun said, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Oscar grimaced.

"Fine, but try to keep it short?"

Sun stared down at him.

"Oscar, in the time you've know Nora, have you ever heard her tell **any** part of a story briefly?" he asked.

Oscar grimaced.

"No."

"Then don't expect her to start now."

"Why's she wearing a blanket?" Nora asked, raising a hand to poke Natalie.

Ivy reached her hand up and grabbed Nora by the wrist gently, making the action look almost as if on accident.

"Your coat is very nice. It's cotton, right? It came from a small sheep. A runt, I think... yes, definitely a runt. Nice fabric, thought," Ivy said idly, running her hand over the coat.

Nora stared at her, frowning in confusion.

"She's wearing a blanket because we're sparring today, duh!" Rachel said. Natalie huffed. "And don't worry about Ivy, she's just like that."

"Can I please take this off?" Natalie asked.

"Nope!" Rachel responded.

Nora pulled her arm out of Ivy's grip.

"I like her!" Nora said, grinning at Ivy, who smiled distractedly at her.

"You're very excited, aren't you?" Ivy asked.

Natalie reached a hand up, careful to keep it covered by the blanket, and set it on Ivy's shoulder.

"Ivy, what did we tell you about saying that kind of thing."

"That it's creepy and off putting," Ivy said idly, swaying from side to side.

"Exactly."

Nora grinned.

"I love creepy and off putting! Tell me something else!" she said.

Natalie shook her head quickly as Ivy opened her mouth.

"Don't get her started, please."

Nora huffed as Ivy's teammates ushered her back to their seats. She didn't let the frustration hinder her enthusiasm, and she hurried to the front of the room, Sun following after her.

"Where'd we leave off yesterday?" Nora asked.

"Right when General Ironwood declared marshal law!" a student called.

Nora grinned.

"Oh, right! I completely forgot about that!"

Nora got started on her lecture for the day, Sun jumping in frequently to add details he'd learned from their friends the night before.

"And then Qrow Branwen turned around to look at the kid who'd interrupted his drinking, finding that the boy was muttering to himself. Qrow knew almost instantly who it was."

Nora paused for dramatic effect, and several students leaned forward in their seats while Oscar covered his face awkwardly.

"Ozpin, back from the dead and in a brand new host! Oscar Pine!"

Nora gestured at Oscar in excitement.

"Dude, what?!" Rachel hissed, leaning closer to her partner.

Oscar gave her a nervous smile.

"Uh, yeah... Ozpin did kind of live in my head for a while, now that you mention it."

"I knew I sensed him," Ivy said idly.

"That still creeps me out," Natalie muttered, pulling the blanket closer to her subconsciously.

"Qrow called his niece, Ruby, to tell her that she needed to get to the academy, but was met with nothing but static," Nora said.

"Because Ruby was in the middle of a battle against the Ace-Ops! Teams RWBY and JNIPR had warrants out for their arrest, because they refused to comply with marshal law!" Sun said.

"Meanwhile, Penny Polendina and Winter Schnee raced down the halls so that Winter could claim the power of the Winter Maiden!" Nora paused. She gasped. "Oh my dust! I just realized that she would have been Winter, the Winter Maiden! Sun, how has nobody ever told me this?!"

"We thought you knew," Sun whispered.

Oscar rolled his eyes at the pair, laughing along with the class.

Nora and Sun soon got themselves back on topic.

"And Penny held the Winter Maiden in her arms as she died, the power transferring to her as the old Maiden died. With her new powers, Penny fought against Emerald, Maiden against Maiden in a battle to the death!" Nora cried excitedly.

"We actually have that on video, from Penny's perspective, obviously!" Sun said, wagging his tail as he started the recording.

As the fight played in front of them, students gasped and awed at the battle, shocked by the intensity of it.

When the video came to an end, right as Penny carried Winter onto the airship, Nora started to speak.

"Ruby finally received Qrow's call and told Neopolitan to fly them to his location. Meanwhile, in the back of the airship, Winter awoke in Penny's arms. She confessed her feelings for Penny then, and the pair shared their first kiss," Sun said, grinning.

"Penny has everything from our adventures recorded, but Winter didn't let her give us that part," Nora said sadly.

"But trust me, it was super romantic," Sun said excitedly.

As the pair got back into the story, the bell rang, and Oscar let out a sigh of relief, scrambling to grab his things.

The four entered third period, Pyrrha and Velvet waving discreetly at Oscar. Thankfully for them, The Art of the Semblance went by quickly, and team ORIN was able to make their escape without Oscar being publicly humiliated again.

As they walked to their fourth period, Oscar frowned.

"So we all know Ivy's semblance, Natalie told us hers at breakfast, and you all know about my force field bubbles. What's yours, Rach?" he asked.

Rachel grinned in excitement.

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

"I know her semblance. It's-"

Rachel slapped her hand over Ivy's mouth.

"What did we say about snooping around in our heads?" Rachel asked.

Ivy became sullen for the first time since Ocsar had met her.

"You guys keep acting like I'm prying, but you're the ones broadcasting your thoughts all loud," Ivy said, crossing her arms.

Natalie stared at her, raising an eyebrow.

"So now it's our fault that you can read minds?"

"I don't read minds! I just... sense things!"

"Sensing thoughts is the definition of mind reading," Natalie said.

Ivy huffed, rolling her eyes.

The four walked to their next class in silence.

-

Yang grinned as she poked her knuckles, slamming her left hand into the palm of her right.

"Hand-to-hand combat doesn't mean fighting without your semblances. A very wise man once taught me that it's about using your semblance _intelligently_. Now, I'm definitely not the smartest, but I sure know how to use my semblance to give me the upperhand when I need it."

Yang glanced at Coco with a wide smile.

"It's all about not exhausting yourself and not revealing all of your strength until it's time for the killing blow," Yang continued.

Ivy tilted her head to the side. She raised her hand.

"What if your semblance isn't really a fighting semblance?" Ivy asked.

Natalie snorted as she looked at her partner.

"Dude, you could wipe out an entire army with that semblance of yours."

Ivy gave her a distracted smile.

"I've never used my semblance during a fight."

"That's the whole point! You need to come up with creative ways to give yourself just the slightest upperhand," Coco said. "Now I'm not great at that, considering my power doesn't have a wide variety of ways to be used, you should probably talk to Ms. Nikos or Ms. Scarletina about how to do it creatively."

Ren rolled his eyes at Coco.

"Sometimes your semblance doesn't help when you're fighting people, but is highly helpful when you're fighting Grimm, such as my own semblance," Ren said. "Or maybe they'll be able to help you protect your friends, such as Mr. Arc. Or maybe they'll help you hide in plain sight, such as Ms. Neopolitan and Amitola."

"But once you've mastered how to do it, it can really help you pack a stronger punch!" Yang said excitedly. "For example, my semblance, as I'm sure Nora's told you at least a dozen times, allows me to absorb damage and use it myself more powerfully. I used to have my semblance turned on almost constantly, but I learned that it works far better if I save it for the finishing blow, because then I can use all of the damage I've absorbed through the entirety of the fight."

The students watched her with wide eyes, and Yang turned to face Coco.

"Let's do this! Hit me!"

"Thought you'd never ask," Coco said, raising her fists.

Ren watched his two fellow teachers with narrowed eyes, wondering if he'd have to step in to make sure that the two didn't kill each other (like he'd had to do the period before).

Yang held her fists up in front of her face.

"What? Worried I'll mess up your face and make your girls leave you?" Coco asked, pushing her sunglasses down her nose with a smirk.

"How would Velvet like you being so rude to your friends?" Yang asked as Coco swung the first punch, slamming it against Yang's side.

Yang grunted, rolling her eyes.

Yang threw a punch at Coco, purposefully missing. Coco kicked Yang in the side, sending her off balance.

"That was dirty," Yang said, grinning.

Coco rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. You're going to hit me with all you've got in a minute, so I don't want to hear your complaining," Coco whispered quiet enough that the students couldn't hear her.

"That's fair," Yang responded, rolling her eyes.

Coco punched Yang again, sending her falling back several feet.

"You do know that the harder you hit me, the harder I hit back, right?" Yang asked.

"But you're just so punchable," Coco said.

Yang laughed, but it turned into a grunt as Coco raised her foot, kicking Yang in the chest and sending her flying across the floor.

Yang grinned and pushed herself to her feet, raising her fists again.

Coco threw another punch, which Yang blocked with her left arm. Suddenly, her eyes turned red and her hair blazed golden as she threw a punch with her metallic arm.

Coco was sent flying across the room, slamming against the wall with a loud **thunk**.

Coco pushed herself back to her feet.

Yang turned to face the students and Coco groaned, stretching her back with a grimace.

"Saving your semblance's true powers for the right chance can help you finish a fight with a killing blow."

"I'm not dead yet, former Xiao Long," Coco grumbled. "You're lucky that we're teaching, cause otherwise I would have whooped your sorry butt."

"See how she's limping? That's from one hit that I timed perfectly. And because she's weak."

"You're so lucky that there's students here," Coco grumbled, popping her back.

"Anyone else wanna give it a shot? Show off their semblance?" Yang asked.

Rachel raised her hand excitedly, waving it around.

Yang grinned, pointing at her.

"I'm not letting a student beat me up, Yang," Coco whispered.

"Just shut up and take it like a man."

"Oh, I'm _all_ woman," Coco said.

Yang grimaced.

"I'll do it if you promise to **never** say that to me again."

"Done," Coco responded immediately.

Yang rolled her eyes, turning to face Rachel as she hurried down the steps toward her.

"Well, how about we see what Oscar's new little partner's got?" Yang asked, popping her knuckles.

Rachel grinned in excitement, raising her fist.

She started to glow, but just as her semblance was about to activate, the bell rang, and Yang rgoaned.

"Alright, alright! We'll pick up where we left tomorrow. Oscar, come get your little friend!"

Rachel let out a groan as Oscar grabbed onto her arm, dragging her out of the room. She dramatically reached out toward Yang as if begging to fight, and Yang found herself distantly reminded of Nora.

"I would have thought you'd be more excited, considering we're going to sparring class," Natalie remarked, rolling her eyes at her teammate's drama.

Rachel instantly perks up.

"Oh, right! This is going to be awesome! Are you all toasty, Nat?"

Natalie glared at her darkly, the blanket around her shoulders making her look far less serious than she usually would have.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Rachel said.

Ivy swayed back and forth as she walked, almost skipping.

"Her body temperature is typically an average of three to five degrees Celsius warmer than the average human, but now she's seven degrees," Ivy said.

"How do you even know that?!"

"I know things."

Natalie rolled her eyes, throwing the blanket at Rachel as they stepped inside the classroom.

Neo and Ciel stood at the front of the room, watching students file inside.

Neo gave Oscar a wink while Ciel nodded her head just slightly in recognition (though that was the equivalent of almost anyone else in the world waving in enthusiasm at their friend's entrance).

The bell rang a minute later, and Oscar settled into his seat beside Rache;l, who was clearly raring to go, foot tapping hastily against the ground.

"As I am sure you all remember, yesterday it was mentioned that today will consist of sparring done by actual students," Ciel began. "Do we have any volunteers to go first?"

Rachel's hand shot into the air and she grinned in excitement.

Neo instantly recognized her as Oscar's partner and pointed at Rachel with excitement, grinning at Oscar as he sighed, standing up.

As they walked down the stairs, Natalie quietly whispered to her partner.

"Now remember, your semblance gives you an upperhand because you can figure out what someone's _thinking_ , which means you know what they'll **do** ," Natalie whispered. Ivy smiled up at her her distractedly.

"Yes, I know."

"Good, good... but don't let them know what you're doing. You heard Ms. Nikos, the element of surprise and secrecy are everything."

Ivy nodded.

Natalie did the same as she stepped up to the front of the class.

"Do you want me to make sure you don't get hit in the back?" Ivy asked, tilting her head to the side.

Natalie flinched, glancing at her partner.

"What? Why?"

"Because of the scratches," Ivy responded.

Natalie stiffened.

"You said you got them from Grimm."

Natalie let out a breath.

"Oh, right. Please, that would be nice."

Ivy nodded, swaying back and forth.

Another team stepped down from the sitting area, the team leader smirking as he looked at Ivy.

"Looks like this one'll be easy, boys," he said. The team leader, Rider, had purposefully messy hair, which he probably had spent lots of time on perfecting and imagined the ladies swooned over.

Ciel eyed him disapprovingly.

"As I said in class yesterday, taunting the enemy is typically a poor approach, unless you think it could put them off guard," Ciel said to the class.

She turned to the group, looking them up and down quickly.

"This spar will not permit weapons, as Mrs. Belladonna-Schnee doesn't think that her students are ready for such dangerous fights. Semblances, however, are allowed and highly encouraged by Ms. Nikos and Scarletina."

Rachel grinned, popping her neck.

"Oh, they better be allowed, cause we've been getting this little firecracker ready all morning," she said, clapping Natalie on the shoulder.

Natalie sparred her a small glare, and her hand retracted.

"Right, no physical contact. Forgot you were... a germophobe?" she asked.

Natalie held in a groan.

"I'm not a germophobe! It's perfectly reasonable to not like being touched!" she snapped.

"If that's what you tell yourself," Rachel said with a wink, turning back to the other team. They were a group of four boys, team RAGR, led by Rider, who had flirted with almost every girl in school already. When he'd hit on Natalie, she'd _actually_ hit him, punching him in the stomach before passing by to go to initation. Rachel had just laughed, thanked him for his brief interest, and then told him never to flirt with her again, or she'd send Natalie after him. The only girl in their team he hadn't tried to seduce was Ivy, who he watched with a slightly disdainful look.

She gave him a sweet smile, swaying back and forth.

"Creep him out, just like we practiced," Natalie whispered under her breath.

As Ciel and Neo set up the perimeter for the fight, moving their desk out of the way of the two teams, Ivy smiled at Rider.

"You named your first dog Snowball? That's so cute," she said.

Rider instantly froze, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Wh-" he paused. "How did you-"

"That's enough chatter," Ciel said dismissively. "The fight will continue until all members of one team's aura are depleted so greatly that they can no longer fight safely. The fight begins in three," Rachel grinned, raising her fists in an excited manner, "two," Oscar's hands balled into fists while Natalie's eyes gained an intense quality as she glared at the other team, "one."

Ivy swayed back and forth, smiling as Rider raced forward, his sword fists aggressively as he neared Ivy.

He swung at her, and she sidestepped easily.

"Natalie wanted me to say that you're predictable," Ivy commented.

Rider glared at her angrily, swinging another punch at her, and Ivy twirled away like a ballerina. She watched him stumble, sticking out her foot to trip him.

He hit the floor hard, staring at her as he scrambled to his feet.

"What, not gonna fight back?" he asked.

Ivy laughed.

"I assure you, I have not _begun_ to fight."

Meanwhile, Natalie dashed toward the closest member of the opposing team. He tried to punch her, but she raised her hand, catching his fist in her palm and holding it tightly.

"Oscar? Rachel?" she asked as the boy stared at her in open disbelief.

"Go for it!" Oscar said, blocking an attack with his forearm, though he was forced to take a step backward from the force of it.

"Mess him _up_!" Rachel called, headbutting her opponent suddenly and shocking him.

Natalie grinned, consentrating on her palm.

Her opponent, whose name she couldn't for the life of her remember, let out a cry of shock, pulling his hand out of her own, staring at his aura as it shimmered around where her palm had been touching his skin.

Natalie held her palm out, fire appearing in it suddenly.

"I've been waiting for this moment _all day_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I boring anyone with the original characters? I hope not! Sorry, I'm trying to make them interesting while still giving fluff for ships (a tough line to walk).


	20. The Spar

Natalie's opponent scrambled backward, and she stalked toward him, smirking.

He finally decided to stop running, swinging his fist at her. She absorbs the hit, taking the chance to grab him by the shirt collar and concentrate.

He lets out a scream as his clothing is engulfed in flames. He threw himself to the ground, rolling around in an attempt to put himself out. Natalie glances up at the board beside her to find his aura quickly deteriorating. Just as she thought he would be disqualified, he put himself out and stumbled to his feet, glaring at her.

She held in an eye roll, raising her fists.

Behind her, Rachel laughed, ducking under a punch from her opponent.

"Hey, Nat, you need some help?"

Natalie groaned.

"I swear if you do what I think you're going to do-"

"Ives, say something nice!" Rachel called.

"Do _not_ ," Natalie growled

"Your aura is very pretty," Ivy said offhandedly, taking a step back as Rider attempted to hit her.

Natalie felt her face flush, heat building up in her head.

Her opponent let out a cry of shock as he was suddenly set on fire again, his aura finally dipping into dangerous levels.

"Dust damn it! I told you not to!" Natalie shouted, racing forward and attempting to put the fallen boy out, but he kept squirming. The flames were finally killed by Neopolitan summoning a gust of wind that settled them.

"Ms. Vine, we are perfectly capable of handling the other students," Ciel said, "please return to your fight."

Oscar stumbled back as his opponent landed a hit on him, clutching his nose.

Natalie was about to go and help him, but a loud voice cut her off.

"Enough!" Rider shouted, his eyes burning blue as his aura started to shimmer around him. A moment later, the boy reappeared in a cloud of blue, five times his normal height.

He lumbered toward Ivy, who took a step back, looking him up and down.

"This is highly dangerous," she commented.

"For you," he sneered.

"No, for you, actually. I don't think you've ever pushed your semblance this far, am I right?" Ivy asked as she dove to the side, avoiding his foot. Her voice wasn't nervous. In fact, it sounded calm, as if she could just as easily be discussing the weather instead of her enemy that had just grown five times his size and was trying to attack her.

Rider growled.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of!" he snapped.

Ivy dove to the side again, avoiding a fist which he had tried to slam against her.

"Dust, is your team leader the only one with a semblance? That's kind of sad," Rachel remarked.

"Stop taunting your enemies," Ciel chided.

"Yes, Ms. Soleil," Rachel said with a sigh.

Rider let out a frustrated growl and threw himself at Ivy, grabbing her in his arms and raising her into the air. He brought her down hard, slamming her against the ground.

Natalie's blood boiled and she sprinted toward her partner, skidding to a stop at her side. Natalie growled and Rider cursed as his hands suddenly started to boil. He pulled back reflexively, and let Ivy drop to the ground.

Natalie growled at him again, and he stepped subconsciously. He suddenly seemed to realize what he'd done, and he glared down at her, raising his fist to slap at her.

She darted between his legs, easily avoiding his large but slowly moving hand, and skidding to a stop behind his back. She took a deep breath before she pushed herself into the air with a hard jump, wishing she had her weapon with her for this fight. She could sink its blade right into his back... but she didn't, and she wouldn't let herself get sidetracked. She grabbed onto his back, holding herself steady and letting the heat flow out of her. She hit him with her fist, letting the fire seep out from it and into his skin.

He shrieked in pain, reaching his hand back to try and remove her. But she hung on, evading his attack and letting more heat be released, silently thanking Rachel for forcing her to use that blanket all day. He screamed again, deciding to throw himself backward.

Natalie grimaced, screwing her eyes shut and preparing herself for the pain that would undoubtedly errupt from her back, perhaps making the scars bleed again. That hadn't happened in the last month, and she would have preferred to avoid it. But he'd hurt one of her teammates, so she clung to him, enjoying the vengeful satisfaction that his rapidly depleting aura gave her.

Just as the pair was about to hit the ground, Natalie could sense something racing toward her with great speed. A pair of arms snatched her around the waist and grabbed her just before Rider could slam against the floor.

Natalie's eyes opened again, and she stared up at Ivy in shock. Ivy just smiled down at her sweetly.

"I've got your back," Ivy paused and then giggled. "Get it?"

Natalie just stared at her wordlessly as Ivy set her down gently, removing her hands from her.

"I know you don't like to be touched, but, given the circumstances-"

"Thank you," Natalie said instantly, cutting her off. Ivy let out a quiet laugh, already starting to sway back and forth.

"You saved me first."

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Dust, can't you just say 'you're welcome?' It's really not that difficult."

Ivy was about to speak, but she suddenly spun to face Rider.

"He's not done," she said. "Although it would likely be smart of him to give up."

"Oh, that would _definitely_ be the smart decision, Ives," Natalie said, grinning, "but that's no fun, is it?"

She closed her eyes, focusing on her heat reserve. It flowed out of her and sparked to life on Rider, setting him ablaze.

He screamed again and fell against the floor. He writhed and shrunk back to his normal size, rolling across the floor in an attempt to put himself out.

Ivy watched him, tilting her head to the side.

"I bet that **burned** a lot of calories," Natalie commented, snickering to herself.

"Did you know that the average person burns a hundred calories for every mile they run?" Ivy asked, watching as Ciel and Neo put out the flames.

Natalie didn't respond, and she glanced at her partner with confusion.

Natalie slumped, running a hand through her hair.

Ivy let her eyes fall shut, watching with her senses as the fight around them continued, making sure that none of their enemies attacked and none of their friends were in danger. When she felt comfortable, she reached out to Natalie mentally.

"You're cold."

Natalie shivered.

"Wow, you really are telepathic," she said sarcastically.

"You're five degrees Celsius below normal."

Natalie rubbed her arms with her hands.

"Sounds about right."

"Is this because of your semblance?" Ivy asked, frowning.

"Heat's gotta come from somewhere," Natalie responded.

"But your aura seems, for the most part, perfectly fine."

"I could tell you that just by looking up at the board," Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

Ivy opened her eyes, frowning at Natalie.

"You pushed yourself too far."

"Yup," Natalie said, rolling her shoulders.

"Why?" Ivy asked innocently, staring up at her.

"Because he was throwing you around like a rag doll. Couldn't let my partner get killed."

"I would have had him under control. I was almost through with him," Ivy said.

Natalie turned to look at her with a small frown, wondering if Ivy was being prideful. Ivy just stared back at her with those same inquisitive eyes.

Natalie shrugged uncomfortably under her scrutiny, looking away from her quickly.

"Yeah, well, now you don't have to."

Meanwhile, Rachel slammed her fist against her opponent's face, causing him to go sliding across the floor, aura shimmering around him. She glanced up at the board and huffed, crossing her arms.

"It was that easy?! Really?! I didn't even get to use my semblance!"

"Uh, Rach, if you're free, can I get some help?" Oscar called, ducking under a punch.

"Yeah, one sec!" Rachel turned to her other teammates, noticing that Natalie was shivering. "Ives, we talked about this!" she called before racing over to their team leader and helping him against their final enemy.

Ivy considered for a moment, swaying back and forth as if trying to remember what exactly she and Rachel had talked about.

"Oh, right! Silly me, forgetting like that," she turned to face her partner, smiling brightly. "You fought very well. Your semblance is very impressive. I think you are a very amazing person."

Natalie's eyes shot to Ivy and she flushed a deep shade of red. Ivy felt her body temperature starting to pick back up, even as Natalie glared at her in embarrassment.

"Ives, what did I say about that?!" she snapped.

Ivy just smiled at her innocently.

"Your aura isn't the only part of you that's pretty."

Natalie turned an even darker shade of red, and she looked down at her feet.

Ivy grinned as she continued to sway in place.

"See? Your temperature is back to normal!"

There was screaming from behind Natalie, and the pair turned to find one student scrambling out of their seat as their textbook burnt.

"Dust," Natalie cursed, taking a step forward.

Neo waved her hand, and the fire was put out.

Ivy smiled as Natalie shook her head sufferingly.

" _That's_ why you don't do that," Natalie hissed.

"Sometimes, the things that you're expressly forbidden from doing are the ones you wish to do the most. It's called reverse psychology!"

Natalie was about to respond, but the sound of a buzzer going off made her halt. Her hands flew up to her ears and she covered them, grimacing at the shrill noise.

Natalie and Ivy look over at their two teammates, who are breathing raggedly and standing over the final opponent, who laid on the ground motionlessly.

"Team ORIN wins," Ciel said in a monotone voice. Neo sighed silently and motioned for her to say it with more gusto. Ciel rolled eyes, repeating herself with a fraction of more excitement.

"Thanks for the help, guys," Rachel muttered, panting. "You two really helped us with that last guy. It was like Oscar and I were standing still!"

Ivy didn't seem to hear her, staring at Natalie in contemplation, eyes falling on her back. Natalie didn't notice.

"We got two of them, you got the other two, I'd say we're even."

Rachel rolled her eyes sufferingly and trudged back to their seats.

Natalie went to follow her, but glanced back at her partner, who was now looking off into the distance at something that Natalie couldn't even pretend to fathom.

Natalie considered for a moment, weighing her options. She reached out slowly and set her hand on Ivy's shoulder, drawing her toward their chairs.

Ivy seemed mildly surprised by the action, but she smiled at the action, following her partner up the steps with a bounce to her steps.

When they'd all been seated, Rachel threw the blanket over Natalie, grinning.

"Your fire was _awesome_ by the way," Rachel said. "I can only assume that it was thanks to _my_ quick thinking with the blanket."

Natalie stared at her levelly, and Rachel laughed.

Ivy watched her teammates with a sort of vague interest. She'd figure out what was going on with Natalie, sooner or later. She recalled when she'd saved Natalie from being crushed, having touched bare skin in the process. The pain in her back had still been there, like knives being driven into the shoulder blades. What could have possible caused that sort of damage?


	21. Panic Attacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: there is a very realistic panic attack in here, which I know for a FACT is realistic because it's heavily based off of events from my life (disregarding the magic stuff and RWBY facts lol)

Team RWBY met up for lunch after fifth period, sitting in the cafeteria and watching the students. Blake found her gaze landing on one of Oscar's teammates, who she swore looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on _how_.

"Does Natalie look familiar to you?" Blake asked, squinting at the girl as she saw beside her partner, Ivy, a blanket thrown over her shoulders.

"Nope," Ruby said, happily digging into the bag of cookies Blake had handed her earlier.

"No," Weiss said dismissively, chiding Ruby about her sugar addiction and glaring at Blake for having given their wife the food.

"Not in the slightest," Yang said, arm wrestling Nora (again).

"Kinda," Ilia responded, leaning forward in her seat and staring at the girl. "Now that you mention it, she does kind of look familiar, but I can't quite tell where I've seen her."

"At initiation, maybe?" Sun offered.

Ilia and Blake both gave him unamused looks, and he held up his hands in defeat.

"Perhaps you knew her when you were younger?" Pyrrha suggested, looking at her girlfriend with a slightly curious expression on her face.

Blake nodded, Ilia doing the same at her side.

"But... I still don't know _when_ ," Blake said, ear twitching in irritation. Ruby giggled at the movement, like she always did, and reached her hand up to play with the cat ear. At this point, Blake had given up telling her wife how offensive that could look to other faunus. Ruby didn't mean any harm in it, clearly.

Sensing she was being watched, Natalie looked up at the two faunus, pulling the blanket closer around her shoulders uncomfortably. Her gaze flickered to Ruby, and her eyes narrowed.

Blake frowned suddenly, watching Natalie shake her head at Ruby's perceived rudeness.

"Yang, can you see Natalie from here?" Blake asked.

Yang glanced up, scanning the tables.

"Kind of? I mean, she's really far away."

"Can you see her face?"

"No. I only recognize the blanket, really. That's weird, by the way. Why did she drag that everywhere?" Yang responded.

"Her semblance is heat based. She starts fires, and I assume she has to absorb the heat in the same way that Nora absorbs lightning for her semblance," Ciel said, not looking up from her food.

Nora gasped in excitement.

"She's now officially my second favorite member of team ORIN!"

"I thought you liked Ivy," Sun said.

"Nah, she was kinda creepy," Nora said dismissively, waving her hand as if to dispel the idea for good. Sun snorted, shaking his head.

Blake stared back at Natalie, leaning forward and putting her head on her chin as she frowned.

She gasped suddenly.

"Ilia, I know where we've seen her!"

-

Natalie stood suddenly, shocking her teammates. Well, all of her teammates except for Ivy, who just smiled at the interruption.

"I... I need to go," Natalie said, hurrying out of the cafeteria, her blanket forgotten on the chair.

"Ives, what's her deal?" Rachel asked, watching their teammate go with a small frown.

Ivy stood up and distantly answered her friend's question.

"Did you know that trauma can physically age your brain? Anxiety can as well. It's not good for the neurons."

Ivy stepped out of the cafeteria, moving slower than her partner had, and followed after her.

She could feel the path Natalie can taken, and she closed her eyes, walking down the hallway confident that she wouldn't accidentally bump into anyone or anything.

She could feel the tears before she could hear Natalie's sniffling. Ivy opened her eyes, finding Natalie curled up in a corner, rocking herself back and forth with her arms wrapped around her. She clawed at her back with intensity, eyes distant and clouded with tears as she stared ahead of her unseeingly.

Ivy crouched beside her, and Natalie jumped, flinching away from her partner.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Natalie took deep, rasping breaths, and Ivy could tell she was in no state to speak.

Ivy held out her hand beside her, and Natalie eyed it hesitantly for a moment.

She took it, clenching her fist around Ivy's palm as she crumbled, sobbing.

Ivy felt the emotions overwhelm her, the fear coursing through her veins. It was another panic attack. Ivy had had a few of her own, and felt more than a dozen others from friends, family, and strangers alike. They tended to radiate strongly around people, invading Ivy's senses whether she wanted them to or not. Natalie's heart was pounding, and Ivy's beat in time with her. Sweat coated the hand that Ivy clutched, but she didn't let it slide out of her own. Memories washed ashore in the sea of Natalie's mind and reached out, overwhelming Ivy.

Pain, betrayal, despair, desperation, capture, humiliation... **lose**. The final one was staggering, even for someone such as Ivy, who felt the emotions of others on a daily basis.

"Can I see what happened?" Ivy questioned gently, reaching her arm around Natalie's shoulder and pulling her closer.

Natalie collapsed against Ivy's side, falling into her arms and putting her head against her partner's chest.

Ivy could feel the racking breaths twofold now, in front of her and _in front_ of her senses as she moved closer to Natalie.

Natalie nodded just slightly, reaching a hand up to grab Ivy's shirt, which she clutched until her knuckles turned white.

-

"Where?!" Ilia asked Blake, eyes shooting to her friend.

"That's why I didn't recognize her at first," Blake said contemplatively, watching the girl race out of the cafeteria, followed a moment later by her partner.

"Why?"

-

Images flashed in Ivy's mind, and they horrified her. Her heart raced, her breathing shallowed, her palms sweat, her arms shook, her head felt like a prison that she couldn't escape. But still she pressed on, because this wasn't about her. This was about Natalie.

The images were a bit disorienting, as they were all from Natalie's point of view, but Ivy was used to that sort of thing.

She was hunched over, crying out in pain and clutching her back as her own blood covered the ground in front of her.

The image shifted.

She was falling in the sky, her heart light as she dove down with practiced ease.

The image shifted.

She was looking in a mirror at her bare back, two long scars ran down it, coated in dried blood.

Shift.

She was soaring through the air with a gleeful laugh.

Shift.

She was holding two black, unfamiliar objects to her chest and sobbing.

Shift.

She was flying again.

Shift.

She'd lost a part of herself.

-

"She doesn't have her wings," Blake said.

Ilia's eyes went wide with realization, and her hand flew up to her mouth, eyes wide.

-

Natalie seemed to be calming down. Ivy always found that having someone else sharing the panic helped ease the pain, calm them down faster.

"You're a faunus," Ivy breathed.

Natalie nodded, wiping at her eyes.

"They cut your wings."

Natalie pulled herself closer to Ivy, legs curling up against her chest.

"They...," Ivy dove deeper into Natalie's mind, "they took that from you."

Natalie's body shook with another sob.

"They didn't just take your wings, they took a _part_ of you."

Natalie whimpered.

"I'm not a faunus anymore. They took it from me. They took my wings, they took my flight... and they took my heritage. They took a **part** of me," Natalie was able to say between gasps.

Ivy pulled her partner closer.

"And it still hurts," Ivy said.

"All the time."

Ivy ran her hand over Natalie's trembling back, whispering soothing noises. She let her eyes fall shut, and she did something she'd only done once before.

Ivy pulled closer to Natalie, mentally and physically, and pushed herself at the other girl.

Natalie made a quiet sound of shock as sensation washed over her. Heartbreak, sorrow, anger, compassion... pride? Natalie was surprised not to find any sense of pity or other emotions of the like.

"You're a very strong woman, Natalie."

Natalie laughed, but it came out more like a croak.

Her thoughts must have carried over to Ivy, because she responded to them before Natalie could say anything.

"Fear doesn't make you weak. Sadness doesn't make you weak."

Ivy pulled back just slightly so that she could look Natalie in the eyes, running a hand over her partner's cheek with her thumb and wiping at her tears.

"I've known a lot of people in my life, Natalie. Inside and out, seen how they thought, understood how they worked, figured out what made them tick... and you're the bravest, strongest one I've ever seen."

Natalie felt the sincerity radiating off of Ivy, and she choked back a sob.

Ivy pulled Natalie closer again, setting her partner's head against her chest.

"Have you ever heard the little salmon?"

Natalie shook her head.

"He was small, almost invisible to the naked eye when he was born. He was so small that he was half the size of the tiniest of his other siblings. He was afraid of everything, and when I say everything, I mean **everything**. His siblings, other fish, prey, predators, rocks... once he even saw his own reflection and tried to hide from it."

"Sounds like a really wimpy fish," Natalie muttered. Ivy smiled.

"Because of his fears, his countless siblings would also make fun of him. They'd call him names, try to scare him, you name it, and they'd probably done it to frighten him."

Natalie stared up at her partner, intrigued.

"Are you telling me the story of a fish because I'm a faunus?"

"Just shut up and listen," Ivy said, stroking Natalie's back again.

Natalie was surprised at the harsh words, but there wasn't any venom behind them.

"But out of all of the little salmon's fears, at the top of the list was _sharks_. They were big and scary, ferocious and mighty, so much larger than the little salmon could ever imagine. Just one tooth in a shark's mouth was bigger than his _whole_ body, which was, understandably, a horrifying image. All of his thousands of siblings thought it was idiotic to ever worry that a shark might come to their little edge of the ocean. The little salmon was always worried, however, in the back of his mind, that one day a shark _would_ come."

Natalie stared up at Ivy, transfixed.

"And, one day, one did. It swam into their little section of the ocean, at the side of the sea by the shore that hadn't seen a shark in decades. The shark let out a ferocious roar, and all of the salmon tried to hide, but they were all too big to hide under rocks or in crevices. All except for the little salmon, who easily fit in the spaces that his siblings couldn't. He hid, watching as the shark advanced on his siblings, who cried out for help. Those voices, the same voices that had taunted the little salmon for his whole life, had jeered at him, had insulted him, had frightened him, now called for help. But the little salmon was safe, hidden in his little corner of the edge of the ocean, locked away where nobody could ever get in. No monsters, no sharks, nothing but the little salmon could fit in his hiding spot. And as the little salmon watched the shark advance on his siblings, he grew more and more scared. The shark couldn't _possibly_ get to the little salmon, so it made no sense that he feared for himself. He feared for his siblings."

Natalie frowned.

"As the little salmon slowly swam out of his hiding spot, he was more scared than he had ever been in his entire life. A shark, the object of his greatest nightmares and fears, swam not even two meters from him. But the little salmon didn't swim away, didn't let the fear take him over. Do you know why?"

Natalie shook her head, but she felt like she knew the answer. She just wanted to hear Ivy say it.

"Because the little salmon was too busy worrying for his siblings. He didn't let himself flee, because there was more at stake than his own life. So the little salmon swam up to the shark, stopping just a centimeter from the creature's mouth. The shark was so shocked that he froze, not eating the only fish that had swam toward him willingly. The little salmon took his stand there, right in front of the shark. He said 'shark, I can't watch you eat my siblings. I know I can't stop you, but I'll do anything in my power to. I'll give myself over willingly. I'll sacrifice myself if only you promise not to eat my siblings.' The shark was so surprised that he stared at the little salmon for a full minute before speaking. He said, in a deep and commanding voice, 'who are you to defy me, little one? Who are you that deems himself worth a thousand fish?'"

Natalie sat up slightly, entranced in the story.

"The little salmon responded, 'I am nobody, shark. I am just a humble little salmon that begs you to spare the lives of his family. I am not worth a thousand fish, not even a dozen. If you ask the fish around me, I'm worthless. But there is one thing that I could do, one thing that could have any modicum of meaning, and that is to sacrifice my life to you right now, so that you could consider sparring my family.' The shark laughed. 'If they ridicule you so, why don't you just hide? Why sacrifice yourself for fish that would never do the same for you?' The little salmon didn't back down. 'Because there's still good in them, shark. I know that any one life is worth losing to save thousands.'"

Natalie was crying again now, and as Ivy started to wrap up her story, she wondered if she'd made a mistake telling the tale. Despite her worries, she pressed on.

"The shark was so impressed by the little salmon, that he decided to let him and his family live, and he swam away, leaving the family to their quiet little corner of the ocean. Despite his fears and his own doubts, the little salmon was a hero because, despite all he went through, he was still willing to sacrifice himself for the people who had tormented him. His fear wasn't a weakness, just like yours isn't, Natalie. After everything that happened to you, you still decided that you wanted to become a Huntress, to stand up for the little guy."

Natalie sobbed and grabbed Ivy's shirt again, balling it up in her hand.

Ivy frowned in worry.

"Did you not like the story?" she asked.

Natalie took a deep breath, looking up at her partner.

"Ivy, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in my life."

Ivy smiled, running her hand over Natalie's head.

"Even if it had to be through metaphors, like every thing you say."

"Actually, that one ended up being an allegory."

Natalie chuckled, wiping at her eyes.

-

"She lived in Mengaerie!" Ilia said, eyes wide in recognition. Blake nodded, and the pair shot to their feet, racing out of the cafeteria and leaving behind several confused teammates and friends.

-

The pair heard footsteps down the hall, and a moment later Oscar and Rachel rounded the corner.

"There you are! We were wondering where you two-"

Rachel stopped when she got a good look at the pair.

"What's going on?" she asked worriedly.

Oscar kneeled down in front of Natalie, reaching his hand out and wiping at her eyes to rid them of tears.

"She's sharing," Ivy said.

Natalie laughed, the sound slightly raspy from her tears. She sniffled, starting to sit up due to the audience. Ivy pulled her back down, holding her gently.

"What exactly was she sharing?" Rachel asked. It sounded nosy, but Natalie, for once, found herself looking on the positive side. Rachel just wanted to check on her.

Before either Ivy or Natalie could respond, loud footsteps against the tile sounded, two forms rounding the corner and skidding to a stop.

Blake and Ilia stood there, looking down at their fellow faunus.

"They cut them, didn't they?" Blake breathed, crouching down beside Natalie.

She nodded.

"Cut what?" Rachel asked, concern laced in her voice.

Natalie glanced up at Ivy, who gave her a small smile of encouragement.

"My wings. I'm... I'm a faunus."

It felt so freeing to be able to say that again. For so long it had felt like that right had been stripped from her, like she couldn't call herself a faunus, couldn't call herself a person... but not anymore.

Oscar and Rachel stared at her, wide eyed.

"They cut off your wings?" Oscar asked in disbelief.

Natalie nodded, Ivy wiping tears off of her cheeks.

"Almost a year ago now, but... it still hurts, and I don't mean metaphorically. I can still feel the knife digging into my skin."

Blake and Ilia reached out toward her, each setting a hand on the leg closest to them.

"Who?" Rachel asked, voice dangerously low.

Natalie frowned.

"Who what?"

"Who cut them off?" Rachel asked, practically shaking from rage. She clenched her fist tightly, and her eyes seemed to glow with unbridled rage. "Who cut them off?!" she bellowed.

Natalie flinched, and Ivy covered her ears for her.

"A group of anti-faunus radicals. They... they saw me one day... and I was an easy target, I guess. I was very easy to recognize as a faunus... my wings, they were... they were large, easy to spot in a crowd, and they were looking for a faunus to torture that day. I was just the unlucky one they decided to..."

Rachel let out a feral yell, punching the wall with her hand.

"Rachel, lower your voice," Oscar said, watching Natalie flinch, even with Ivy covering her ears.

Rachel deflated instantly, eyees turning remoseful. She knelt down in front of her teammate, putting a hand on her knee.

"I'm sorry, Natalie. I didn't...," she hesitated, "I wish there was something I could do"

Natalie wiped at her eyes.

"No, I... I'm used to it, now. I just still get flashbacks sometimes."

"You said it hurt all the time," Ivy said.

"I don't know why," Natalie admitted. "It should have healed by now, but it just... hasn't."

"We'll get a doctor to look at it," Blake said quietly.

Natalie curled closer to Ivy.

"Can we just... go back to the dorm for now?" Ivy asked, hand grabbing Natalie's.

Blake and Ilia nodded.

"Yes, of course. All four of you can have the rest of today's classes off. We'll check in with you in the morning," Blake said gently.

Blake and Ilia asked if there was anything else they could do, but upon the rejection, they left with sad looks.

Rachel and Oscar stood.

"We'll get the room ready," Oscar said, grabbing Rachel's shoulder and pulling her down the hallway.

Rachel suddenly skidded to a stop.

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you a bat faunus? Is that why you like the dark?!"

Natalie glanced up at her and smiled thinly.

"Yes."

Rachel returned the smile before racing down the hall with Oscar.

Ivy waited a moment before helping Natalie to her feet.

She withdrew her hand from Natalie's own, and was shocked when her partner pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Thank you," Natalie breathed.

Ivy smiled and pulled her partner closer.

"Any time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody:  
> My brain: Hercules and Meg AU with Ruby and Weiss. Tangled retelling with Ruby and Blake. Beauty and the Beast, Weiss and Blake. Princess and the Frog with Yang and Blake. Lady and the Tramp, Yang and Weiss. Aladdin with Blake and Weiss.


	22. Winging It

Natalie laid on her side, like always. The room was dark, Oscar and Rachel having covered all of the windows with shades.

Ivy sat on her own bed, quietly humming as she bounced back and forth.

"I'm... sorry I didn't tell you all earlier," Natalie said slowly.

Ivy seemed vaguely surprised at the words, blinking at Natalie slowly.

"It's alright, Natalie," Oscar comforted, giving her a small smile, which she hesitantly returned.

Ivy grinned, though the expression seemed rather distracted.

"Everything happens when they happen."

"That means nothing," Natalie told her partner.

"I would have thought you'd be nicer to her after everything," Rachel said, grinning.

"Nice isn't exactly in my vocabulary, Rach."

"There's approximately 1,022,000 words in the English language," Ivy said.

"Not relevant, Ives," Natalie said.

Ivy considered.

"Natalie is a very nice person. I saw it," Ivy said. "Is that more relevant?"

Natalie felt her face flush, but she pushed it down.

"Oooh! You got to see into the elusive Natalie's head? What did you see?!" Rachel asked excitedly. "I bet there were a lot of pictures of weapons and knives in there."

Ivy smiled, meeting Natalie's gaze.

"What I saw is between her and myself."

Natalie looked away from Ivy's eyes, feeling her face flush with heat. She tried to subtly put out a fire on the carpet with her foot. She learned that day that it was hard to subtly put out a fire.

"Come on, give us _something_!" Rachel whined.

Ivy considered.

"She still has a stuffed animal. She keeps it in her backpack."

Natalie gaped, face filling with heat again.

"What?! No I don't!"

Rachel raced across the room, rummaging through Natalie's bag. Natalie tried to intercept her, but Rachel was far to weaselly to be stopped by her.

She pulled out a small stuffed animal out with a triumphant "HA!"

"What happened to all of the mind reader panic attack victim confidentiality?!" Natalie snapped.

"I don't read minds."

"Coulda fooled me," Natalie said, rolling her eyes and sitting down on her bed with her arms crossed.

"Oh my dust! It's adorable!" Rachel cried, holding the toy up for everyone to see. It was a simple teddy bear, a little worn at the edges from many years of love, and it's right eye had been replaced by a button.

Natalie glared at Ivy as Rachel and Oscar gushed about the toy.

"This is all your fault," Natalie muttered.

Ivy smiled at her.

Rachel spun to face Natalie.

"You still have a teddy bear! It's so _cute_!"

Natalie flushed.

Rachel raised her hand and started to count on her fingers.

"Your semblance is pink, you blush, like, on command," Natalie glared at her, but the tips of her ears turned a light shade of red, "and you've got a _teddy bear_! You're like the biggest softy **ever**!"

Natalie shook her head.

"No, I'm not, now put him back in my bag," she snapped.

Rachel grinned.

"On one condition."

Natalie growled.

"Tell me this wittle bitty guy's name," Rachel said, voice slipping into baby talk as she held the teddy bear in front of her face.

Natalie stared at her darkly.

"Put him back."

"What's his name?"

"If I tell you, you have to swear to never tell anyone outside of this room."

Rachel quickly agreed and Natalie looked down at her hands, fidgeting her fingers.

"Mr. Cuddles..."

Rachel cracked up laughing, and Natalie's face burned red. Rachel let out a cry of shock and threw off her coat, which had erupted in flames.

Natalie hurried forward, grabbing her teddy bear and throwing it back in her bag, zipping it up.

"Dude! Friends typically don't set each other on fire!" Rachel cried.

"You know the dangers of embarrassing me!" Natalie snapped.

"Wait... you mean most friends _don't_ set each other on fire?" Oscar asked. "Dust, I need new friends."

-

Yang growled, fists clenching as she barely stopped her semblance from activating.

"They did _what_ to her?!" she snapped.

"They cut off her wings," Blake said lowly.

The group grew somber, and Nora grabbed her hammer in both hands.

"Neo?" she asked.

 _'Love you, Gorgeous. Be back in a few days,'_ Neo signed, extending the blade on the parasol and giving Nora a malicious smirk.

"Knew I could count on you! If we go now, maybe we can be back in time for tomorrow's classes," Nora said, heading toward the door.

Pyrrha sidestepped in front of the doorway, putting herself between her teammate and the exit.

"Nora, you can't just go kill people," she said.

"Why not?! I've got Neo at my side, my hammer, and my tiny body is filled with undeniable rage. Let's do this!"

Ciel grabbed her girlfriend by the hand, pulling her back.

"You do know that I'm not going to let you do this, right?" she asked.

Neo gave her a small pout.

_'Come on, Gorgeous! I gave up a life of very successful crime for you, the least you could do is let me go murder these guys!'_

Ciel didn't look amused in the slightest.

"Fine, fine! I won't keep anyone... just let me seriously maim them," Nora offered.

Pyrrha watched her with narrowed eyes, and Nora sighed, slumping and leaning against the wall.

"FINE! You guys are no fun. And Neo," Nora looked at her friend, who had her arms wrapped around Ciel's waist with a small pout on her face, "you're totally whipped for her."

Neo winked, and Nora gagged.

-

The tone of the room had sombered, and Rachel chanced a look at Natalie, fidgeting just slightly.

"Do you miss it? Flying, I mean."

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I miss it. Wouldn't you miss walking?"

Rachel grimaced.

"Right, sorry."

Natalie's expression softened.

"It's alright, I understand."

Rachel grinned at her.

Ivy suddenly stood, shocking her teammates as she strode toward the door with more purpose than she usually displayed.

"Ives, where are you going?" Natalie asked, frowning.

"Did you know that gold has one of the lowest specific heats of all elements?" Ivy asked, the door shutting behind her.

The three watched the doorway in shock for a moment before Rachel spoke.

"Should we be following her? You know, to make sure she doesn't get killed?"

"I'd be more worried about the other people," Natalie responded, settling down on her back and carefully avoiding hitting her back on anything.

Oscar, who had been surprisingly silent for the past few minutes, suddenly sat up straight, smiling to himself. He turned to face Natalie and hurried over to her side.

She watched him with narrowed eyes as he leaned over her, inspecting the bed.

"I, uh... I made you this. It might not help much, but... maybe it'll make things a little better," he offered.

Natalie sat up as Oscar pulled his hands out from behind his back, holding a small pillow. At first, Natalie didn't see what was so special about it, but after a moment of consideration, she realized that it was incredibly thin, though longer than her back. Even from her vantage point she could tell it was soft to the touch, and there were small slits were it was shallower... right below her shoulder blades.

Oscar pushed back the covers of Natalie's bed and put the pillow down where her back would be in she laid down on it, shifting it for a moment before stepping back with a wide smile.

"This is just a prototype, obviously, and I could make something better, but maybe you'd like to give it a try?" Oscar said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Natalie stared at him intently, and he took a hesitant step back, about to apologize for his actions. Before he could, Natalie stood and pulled him in for a hug, holding him tightly.

Oscar seemed surprised, reaching his hands up tentatively. He almost rested them on her back, but thought better of it. After a moment, he decided to place them around her neck, pulling the tall girl down slightly.

When the two separated, Natalie smiled down at him.

"Thank you," she said gently.

"It's really nothing," Oscar said, rubbing at his neck again.

"No, it's not. This... this is one of the nicest things anyone's ever done for me," she said, and he finally returned her smile.

"Well get used to it, Nat, cause we're here for you now!" Rachel said, throwing her arm around Oscar's shoulders.

Natalie rolled her eyes, but smiled gently at the pair, taking a seat on her bed.

-

Ivy walked down the halls, searching for that familiar green aura... there it was! Ivy took a right and came to a stop a few meters later outside of a teacher's dorm room, knuckles wrapping against wood.

"Ms. Polendina, may I speak with you?" she asked, taking on a more serious version of herself. She was forced to push away the distractions of the world, focusing on her own body and her own time. That was the only way that Ivy could make herself truly understood, well, one of the two ways. She could always invade someone's mind and yell at them what she was thinking, but that was, as Rachel had put it, "rude, dude." Ivy felt like she was losing a part of herself as she withdrew from the world around her, but it paradoxically made her more and yet less aware of what was happening.

The door opened, and Penny stuck her head out, smiling down at her student.

"Ms. Hanson! Of course!" she said, stepping outside of team RWBY's dorm room. "Though I do have to ask how you knew I was here."

Ivy held in an eye roll. Why did people always have to ask how she knew things?! Couldn't they just accept that she could sense weird things?! Really, why was it so difficult for someone to let go the fact that she could walk through an obstacle course blind folded with Grimm attacking and not get injured? Dust, even Natalie could do that!

Instead of saying what she thought, Ivy just smiled at her teacher.

"I just did."

Penny, surprisingly, accepted the words without further questioning.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I need a favor."

-

The door to team ORIN's dorm room opened, and Ivy stepped inside with a small smile on her face.

"Where you been, Ives?" Rachel asked.

"Well, the atoms that make up me were once a part of a star-"

"Where've you been for the past ten minutes, Ives?" Natalie corrected for her friend, rolling her eyes.

"Wandering the terrestrial plane."

"Why do I even try?" Natalie asked, glancing at Oscar and Rachel for help.

They just shrugged, and Natalie rolled her eyes, leaning back and letting her back gently fall against Oscar's gift. It was... surprisingly comfortable. For the first time since... _it,_ she finally found herself not actively uncomfortable laying down on her back.

Ivy smiled as she took a seat. She had a plan, and she was sure it would work!

Well... she was fifty percent sure, at least.


	23. Shenanigans

The rest of the week passed by quickly. Classes were embarrassing for Oscar, as was to be expected, and people were jerks, which was even more expected.

On Wednesday, Nora made the mistake during her lecture of calling Oscar "Ozzy boy" instead of his name, which had made the whole class burst out laughing. Rider had cornered their team, which his own backing him up, after class to talk it.

"Didn't know you were a momma's boy, Ozzy," Rider had said, smirking.

"Lay off," Natalie had growled lowly.

Rider's partner, Anga, had laughed, looking Natalie up and down.

"Who do you think you're intimidating with that blanket wrapped around you? You look like you're about to start watching the afternoon specials with mommy."

Natalie took off her blanket, handing it to Ivy.

"Hold my flower blanket, Ives."

She had popped her shoulders, smirking menacingly.

"We'll see who has the best," she held out her hand, fire flickering to life in it, " **burns**."

"You're gonna do great, Sweetie! Show them who's boss!" Rachel cheered, making Natalie roll her eyes.

"Stop acting like you're my mom, Rach."

"That's no way to speak to your elders, young lady."

"You're less than a month older than me," Natalie said, sighing to herself.

"She might not actually be my daughter," Rachel had said, turning to face team RAGR, "but you best believe I'll kill anyone who touches her."

"Rach, I can handle my own damn battles," Natalie snapped.

"Don't use that kind of language!" Rachel chided.

"Uh, Rach," Oscar said, "just this morning you dropped your toast and said, and I quote, 'oh fuck a horse.' I don't even know how to **respond** to that."

Rider held up his hands in anger. Ivy giggled at the movement, holding her hands up to mimic him.

"Enough! Are we gonna fight or not?!" he snapped.

"I wouldn't call what you four do _fighting_ ," Natalie said.

"This needs to be cleaned," Ivy said idly, observing the blanket, "you need to stop dragging it on the ground, Nat."

"Not now, Ives," Rachel whispered.

Natalie glanced back at her team leader, who sighed sufferingly. He made a hand gesture as if to say 'if you must.'

Natalie took a step forward, raising her finger and jabbing Rider in the chest with it. As she neared him, she didn't stop walking, forcing him to take a step back with a mix of intimidation and sheer willpower.

"You listen here, Rider, Horse, Saddle, whatever in the name of Dust your name is, if you _ever_ say anything like that to my teammates again, we're gonna have a real problem."

"The problem being that there really isn't anything that cleans up blood well," Rachel called.

"Actually, baking soda can do the trick," Ivy said idly.

Natalie smirked, gesturing back at her partner with one hand while keeping the other pressing against Rider's chest.

"You see that right there? You don't even want to **know** how she knows that. So run along," she said.

She jabbed him harshly with her finger once more, withdrawing her hand. Where her finger had once been, smoke rose above a hole that had burned through Rider's uniform.

Natalie walked to rejoin her teammates and Rachel took the blanket from Ivy, setting it on her shoulders.

"Don't want you getting cold," she said.

Natalie groaned.

"I said stop acting like you're my mom!"

"Well excuse me for worrying!" Rachel said, throwing her hands in the air.

Just as the four were about to leave the room, Nora side stepped in front of them, grinning like an idiot as she stood there.

"Nora, I know you want to catch up, but right now really isn't a good time, we're gonna be late," Oscar said, trying to step past her.

Nora waved her hand dismissively at her friend.

"Pyrrha and Velvet won't mind."

She turned to look at Oscar's teammates, grinning.

"You know, I was kinda worried about my little Ozzy getting a team, but you three handled that really well. But next time I'd _really_ like to see a fight."

Sun rolled his eyes, grabbing Nora around the shoulders and pulling her away from the door.

"I'm sorry about that. Nora, you can't actively encourage students to fight, you're a teacher."

"Why not?!"

"We talked about this! There was a whole meeting dedicated to telling you, Coco, and Neo that you couldn't punch children!"

"It's true, I was there. It was sad," Oscar said to his teammates, leading them out of the classroom and hurrying down the hall for their next class.

Thursday **also** almost ended up in a fight for the team.

The four were minding their own business-well, as much as a team with Rachel on it could mind its own business during their lunch beak, when they heard a student start to speak.

"I don't see why that Schnee married a _faunus._ You'd think that out of all people that family would have standards, you know?" a girl said to her friend, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Natalie grimaced, flinching. One of her hands subconsciously reached toward her back.

Ivy frowned, looking at Natalie in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked.

"That student over there was insulting faunus," Ivy said, glaring at the girl's back.

"How'd you hear that?" Natalie asked, shocked. That had barely been within earshot for Natalie, and her hearing was quite excellent considering she was a faunus.

"I didn't," Ivy said, pushing herself to her feet. She was watching the girl with a dark glare on her face, like nothing her teammates had ever seen her express. 

Natalie's hand shot out, grabbing onto Ivy.

"Ives, it's alright, really, I'm used to it."

"Just because you're used to something doesn't make it right," Rachel said, standing as well. She slammed one fist into the palm of her other hand, glaring darkly.

"Let's go show 'em."

Oscar grabbed his staff, rising as well.

"Stay here, Nat," Ivy said with seriousness that her partner hadn't seen since she'd broken down in the other girl's arms.

"No-"

"You have to pick your battles," Rachel said.

"And I'm picking this one," Ivy responded.

"I don't see why I can't come," Natalie said.

"Because I'm not picking my own battle," Ivy said, "I'm picking yours."

She walked across the cafeteria with determination, glaring at the girl's back.

Natalie watched her with disbelief written across her face.

Ivy reached her hand out, grabbing onto the woman's wrist and making her jump.

"Amanda Gertrude."

The girl's eyes widened as she looked up at Ivy.

"Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you. You're a sad little queen on a sad little hill built on lies and deception. Those that bow at your feet hate you, but fear you. Your friends sabotage you, your teammates conspire against you, but you direct the hate in your heart at others that don't deserve it, all because you don't think daddy loved you."

Rachel glanced at Ivy, eyes wide.

"Uh, Ives, maybe you should calm do-"

"Even he tried to get rid of you, and in trying to prove to him that you're worth his attention, you're doing the opposite," Ivy continued, her eyes suddenly blazing in anger, "you are a waste of your talents and intelligence, and you blame the world around you for your own self-loathing."

Amanda's eyes changed from fearful to heartbroken, tears forming in them.

"I suggest you take a good, long look in the mirror and try to become a better person."

Ivy's eyes suddenly softened.

"Because there's good in you, Mandy. You've just buried it under layers and layers of hate, afraid of letting anyone see it."

Rachel grabbed Ivy by the shoulders and dragged her backwards, but Ivy still clutched Amanda's wrist in a death grip. Oscar detached Ivy's grip, and suddenly she was all smiles again.

"I'm sorry, it had to be said. My name's Ivy, by the way. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, though I do have one more thing to say."

Ivy gestured at Rachel, who seemed to hesitate for a second.

"Oh, uh, right. Don't talk about faunus that way. It's..."

"Rude, dude," Ivy finished for her, and Rachel chuckled.

"Yeah. Rude."

Rachel and Oscar led Ivy back to their table, the entire cafeteria watching them with wide eyes.

"Ives, what the heck happened back there?" Rachel whispered as conversation picked back up around the lunch room.

"I used my semblance to-"

"Yeah, man, I get _how_ you did it, but...," Rachel paused, letting out a sigh and running a hand through a hair as she laughed nervously, "remind me never to get on your bad side."

Oscar nodded hastily in agreement.

Ivy giggled.

"You're my teammates, you could never be on my bad side! You _are_ my side!"

Ivy swayed back and forth in her usual, relaxed way again, glancing at Natalie.

"Are you alright? I know that was probably hard for you."

Natalie jumped, shocked at being addressed. She'd been lost, watching her partner as she ripped Amanda to shreads with ferocity none of Ivy's teammates had ever seen from her. Currently, Amanda was crying at her table, teammates looking at Ivy in shock.

Natalie's face flushed, and she ducked further into the blanket Rachel still had her wearing.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for... thanks for having my back."

Ivy smiled innocently at her.

"Of course!" Ivy glanced at Amanda. "Though, perhaps I did go too far. She seems quite upset."

"Are you kidding me?! That was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Rachel paused to think. "And also probably the scariest. Right, Nat?!"

Natalie's face turned a darker shade of red.

"Yeah, it... it was pretty cool, alright."

Rachel smirked.

"Uh, Nat? You might wanna look up."

Natalie frowned in confusion, glancing up from her lap where she'd been nervously fidgeting with her fingers.

"Oh, dust!" she cursed, reaching her hands forward. In front of Natalie, her entire plate had gone up in flames, which were spreading quickly to Ivy's own.

Natalie patted them out, laughing nervously.

She chanced a look at Rachel, who was laughing loudly.

Natalie's eyes darted to Ivy, who was smiling gently, swaying back and forth to the tune only she seemed to hear. Natalie had noticed that her swaying was always to the same rhythm.

Oscar coughed, trying to get Ivy's attention. It didn't work, so he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, uh, maybe try not to do that whole psychological torture like that again. You, uh...," he looked up at Amanda, who was still sobbing, "you really did a number on her."

Ivy nodded sagely.

"Yes, I'm afraid I let my anger get the best of me. I will try not to do it again in the future, Oscar."

"And here I thought Ives didn't get angry!" Rachel said, looping her arm around Ivy's shoulders in excitement. "But look at her go! Didn't even have to get her weapon out to ruin that girl's _whole day_!"

"That's not exactly a good thing, Rach," Oscar muttered, shaking his head as he glanced at Ivy, who was back to her typical sweet self, smiling up a storm where she sat.

"I thought it was amazing," Natalie said, watching Ivy. Her eyes suddenly widened when she realized she'd said that out loud, and she flushed. Luckily, she didn't start any fires on accident this time.

Later that night, after classes were through, Oscar pulled out his scroll.

"Can I have some privacy?" he got blank looks from his teammates. "Or at least some quiet?"

"What about Rachel scream 'I'm super quiet' at you, exactly?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Oscar sighed, shaking his head.

"Fine, just don't start any fires while I'm on call. I'd really rather not have the building burning down around me while I talk to my boyfriend."

"I can control it!" Natalie snapped.

Rachel glanced at her.

"Sweetie, you're amazing and you're now officially my child, but you really can't."

"I'm not your kid, Rach! And also, I can too! Almost of the time, at least..."

"You control it approximately sixty-eight percent of the time," Ivy said.

"Are you some sort of math whizz or something?" Natalie asked.

"Math is just another language that's a construct of human imagination and giving meaning to the objects around them. But yes, I'm good at it."

Natalie stared at her.

Ivy giggled at the look.

"I'm beginning to think you're saying that sort of stuff just to frustrate me," Natalie said.

Ivy grinned.

"And confuse you. You look so cute when you're exasperated."

Natalie's face flushed, and she quickly slapped out the flames that had engulfed her textbook.

"You're a flirt, that's what you are," Rachel said, laughing.

Natalie glanced at Rachel.

"She is?"

"Just this morning she said that my eyes were like diamonds."

Natalie felt herself deflate slightly.

"I guess she is."

Oscar shushed them as he dialed a number.

A moment later, Whitley's face appeared on the scroll, and Oscar grinned in excitement.

"Hey, Whit-Whit!"

"Are your insane teammates there?"

"All of our combined eighty-three personalities!" Rachel called.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Rachel offered.

"It's for me," Ivy said dazedly, standing and walking in her normal, distracted way.

Ivy opened the door, smiling at the person outside. Natalie craned her neck to see who it was.

"Hello, Amanda. Why are you here?" Ivy asked. The words themselves seemed hostile, but she said it with such innocence and sincerity that they almost seemed like the kindest words ever uttered, at least to Natalie. And apparently to Amanda, because she smiled gently at Ivy, almost in a shy manner.

"I wanted to thank you, actually."

"Can you two take that outside, please?" Oscar hissed, putting his hand over the scroll in an attempt to muffle the sound of his voice.

Ivy stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Natalie's eyes closed, and she watched them outside. She _was_ a bat faunus, after all. She only had one physical trait of a bat, like all faunus, but echolocation was also something she'd gained from her heritage, just like she and many others of her kind could see in the dark and hear far better than the normal human.

She tried to tune out Oscar and Whitley's conversation to hear Ivy and Amanda outside. Luckily for the snooping faunus, the walls at Beacon were thin, probably because of the recent rebuild.

"I... I haven't always been a good person," Amanda laughed nervously, scuffing the ground with her shoe awkwardly, not looking at Ivy, "and what you said today... well, it was eye opening. I wanted to say thanks."

Ivy tilted her head to the side, and Amanda laughed again.

"I know, it's weird. I've never thanked someone for telling me all of my faults before, but... because of you, I'm turning over a new leaf. I want to be a better person."

Ivy smiled at that, her smile that could always light up a room.

"I'm glad! I know that you can do it, Amanda."

"I just have one question... how did you know all that stuff about me?"

Ivy smirked.

"My friend told me to say that 'I'm just that good.'"

Amanda giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Well, however you knew... I feel like you're the person that knows me the best in this world, but that's insane, right?"

"I likely am. I've never met anyone who can do what I can."

Amanda hesitated.

"Did... did you see anything good in here?" she asked, gesturing at her head.

Ivy took her hand.

"I saw lots of good in there, and I still do. You just have to show it to the rest of the world."

Amanda teared up, wiping at her eyes.

"I know I do... thank you, Ivy."

"Of course."

"If you ever need _anything_ , tell me."

"Stop harassing faunus," Ivy said instantly.

Amanda flinched.

"I was going to. Is there anything that **you** would want?"

Ivy tilted her head to the side in adorable confusion.

"That is what I want. I hope you have a good night, Amanda, and a better life."

With that, Ivy stepped back inside.

Ivy swayed back and forth and stared at Natalie for a moment, head tilting to the side.

"Is there something wrong, Natalie?"

Natalie scrambled to grab her backpack, pulling out her textbook.

"Uh, yeah-I mean, no, I'm fine," Natalie said, chuckling awkwardly.

Ivy nodded, smiling at her partner.

"Did you know that humans and faunus live a much longer life on average when they live on groups?" Ivy asked.

Natalie smiled slightly.

"Did you just ask to sit with me?"

Ivy nodded.

Natalie scooted to the side to make room.

"You know, I think I'm starting to learn that weird language of yours."

"There's roughly six thousand and five languages, both dead and still spoken," Ivy responded.

"Okay, I'm trying to learn it," Natalie corrected, and Ivy giggled.

"Researchers say that it takes two months to become fluent in a language when immersed in it's culture."

"Your language might take longer," Natalie said, smiling gently.

"Then you should really get," Rachel paused to smirk, "immersed in it."

Natalie flushed a dark shade of red, and slammed her book closed to put the fire on its pages out. She really needed to start being careful with those before they became illegible from burn marks.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Natalie said.

"I'm sure," Rachel said, glancing at Oscar, who spared her a moment away from his boyfriend to frown in confusion. It didn't last long, and he was soon back to being sickeningly cute with Whitley.

"How's Winter been?"

"She's still trying to be rude so that it looks like I don't look like I'm getting preferential treatment, but it's still clear she's picking on me."

"Need me to talk to her?" Whitley asked.

"No, I can handle it, Whit-Whit. But I can't handle not seeing you."

"You're so corny," Whitley said, flushing a dark shade of red.

Oscar smiled back at him, laughing quietly.

"Wait a second-did you get flirting tips from Blake?"

"All of team RWBY, actually, but I only listened to Blake," Oscar said.

"Good decision," Whitley said, laughing gently.

Rachel booed.

"Stop being cute, we're trying to not throw up over here," she said.

Oscar rolled his eyes and walked out of the dorm room.

"Sorry for the interruption," he said just as the door swung closed.

"Seems like love's in the air," Rachel said, watching Oscar and glancing at her other teammates.

Natalie flushed.

"The air's mostly made out of nitrogen," Ivy said.

Natalie glanced at her partner, raising an eyebrow.

Rachel rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall. All her teammates were so dramatic.

The next day, Friday, was exciting for the team. After several days of trying to show off her semblance to any teacher that would give her the time of day, she finally got the chance, in hand-to-hand combat class, nonetheless.


	24. Fluff Chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had some complaints about the original characters being the focus of the last few chapters, but I'm here with a long fluff chapter featuring our canon characters! And I know the original characters had the spotlight for a bit, and I'm sorry. I have a plot ready for team RWBY, I swear, but it'll take a bit of time passage to get there, and it's easier to go over the time with plot from the other characters so none of us get bored with the overly fluffiness and then get tired of the story! I promise it'll be worth it, though!

"Today was far too tiring, and it's only lunch," Weiss muttered, yawning. They were in their room at the moment, the four having eaten quickly so they could have some time alone in their room.

"Must be exhausting being that beautiful," Yang said, shooting finger guns at her.

"How are you not asleep?" Weiss asked, giving her a small smirk.

Yang flushed.

"How does _everyone_ in this relationship have more game than I do?!" she cried.

"Because apparently you play an entirely different sport," Blake said.

"No, she's playing the right sport, she's just on the bench," Ruby responded.

Yang glared at her sister and Ruby laughed.

"Wow. I'd be offended if that didn't come from the same girl that told me earlier that the happiest day of her life was when she realized she got to teach weapons to students."

"You said _what_?" Weiss asked dangerously, eyes narrowing.

Ruby's eyes widened, and she waved her hands quickly.

"I took it back!"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so it's fine as long as you take it back _after_ you remember that you got married a few weeks ago," Weiss said.

Ruby laughed awkwardly.

"Heheh... yeah, I was just... excited?"

"More excited than about being married?" Weiss asked, arms crossed.

Ruby made a few sounds, but didn't form any words.

"Oh, lay off her, Weiss. Not everyone can love you two as much as I do," Yang said. "Because _clearly_ the sister who remembered that we'd gotten married would love you both more than the one that didn't."

"Hey!" Ruby whined, pouting. "I love them just as much as you do, if not more!"

"Girls, girls, there's enough of us to go around," Blake said.

"That was _lame_!" Yang responded.

"It was cute," Ruby responded, wrapping her arms around Blake's shoulders and pulling her closer.

Blake grinned and reached a hand up Ruby's back, tracing circles with her fingers.

"What's wrong with you two?! That was **not** cute!" Yang said, almost whining.

Weiss stepped up behind Blake and grabbed her around the waist.

"It _was_ cute," the former heiress said as Blake reached her hand back to grab Weiss' with her own, leaning back against her lovingly.

"Blake, stop hogging my wife," Yang said, moving forward and picking Weiss up in her arms and spinning her around in a circle.

Weiss let out a quiet squeal, grabbing Yang around the shoulders to stay balanced.

"I'm not hogging your wife, Yang, I am your wife," Blake said, rolling her eyes.

Ruby pouted, grabbing Blake's jacket with her hands and tugging her down so that Blake was closer to her.

"Hey, stop ignoring me for my sister, a girl gets jealous," Ruby said. "Don't tell me that you're leaving me for my sister."

"I have to admit, I think I might be in love with her," Blake said.

"You're ruining the mood, Blakey," Ruby said, leaning up and connecting their lips.

"Yang, put me down," Weiss said.

Yang silenced her by connecting their lips.

Weiss instantly melted into her arms, reaching her hands up to cradle Yang's face.

Yang grinned against her lips, turning around and falling forward against the bed, running her hands, down Weiss' back, crawling onto the bed above her.

Ruby detached from Blake with a grimace.

"Weiss, keep it down, I don't want to hear the sounds you make when you're kissing my sister," Ruby said.

Blake chuckled.

"Blakey, distract me," Ruby said.

She pulled Blake down closer to her and moving forward so that she could push Blake closer to the wall.

The faunus' eyes shot open as Ruby backed her into the corner. She raised an eyebrow as Ruby pulled back.

"Uh, Sugar, I think it might be awkward with your height-"

Ruby took a few quick breaths, bouncing up and down on her toes before she jumped into the arm, putting her legs against the two walls beside her and steadying herself that way. Blake bit her lip to stop herself from bursting out laughing.

"How long have you been planning this?" Blake asked.

Ruby was silent for a second.

"How long?"

"A week," Ruby said.

"Shut up and kiss me, lunch break isn't that long."

Ruby put her hands on Blake's waist and pulled her closer.

-

"Girlfriend Winter!" a voice called from outside of the dorm room, and Winter jumped, hurrying toward the window and opening it.

Penny hurled herself inside of the room, tackling her girlfriend in a hug.

Winter's eyes fluttered shut as the pair hit the ground, Penny's hands settling down on her face to pull them closer.

Winter thought there was something different about her girlfriend, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it with her eyes shut. Not to mention how distracted she was by how close her girlfriend was at the moment. She reached her hands up and tangled one in Penny's hair, the other landing on her hip.

Winter let out a small sound of shock as she ran her hand down Penny's hair. There was something different about it. As if-

Winter pulled back and pushed Penny a little further off of her.

Her girlfriend had been gone since Tuesday afternoon, off doing something that she would only describe as "a favor from a very determined student!"

And now she looked... Winter's mouth went dry.

Her hair was significantly longer than before, and she was wearing a brand new dress that seemed something like the skirt version of suspenders. She had on a giant bow now, but it was black instead of pink.

Winter stared at her girlfriend, eyes racking up and down her form.

"Penny, what happened? I mean, what happened to...," Winter trailed off as she took her girlfriend in with wide eyes.

"Oh! Right! While I was in Atlas, my father decided that he wanted to take the chance to give me some upgrades and redesigns!"

Winter was silent, and Penny frowned.

"Do you not... like it, Girlfriend Winter?"

Winter jumped, forcing her gaze back to Penny's eyes.

"What?! Oh, I, uh... of course I like it!"

Penny tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"You sound uncertain. I can-"

"I like it, Penny!" Winter forced out, flushing. "I... really like it."

Penny beamed at her, bouncing to her feet. Winter watched her, not moving to get up off the floor.

"I need to see my friends again and give this to team ORIN!" Penny moved toward the door, glancing behind her. "Girlfriend Winter, are you coming?"

Winter jumped.

"Yes, yes, of course!"

She scrambled to her feet and Penny looked at her oddly.

"Your pulse is highly irregular, are you in danger?" Penny's knives started to unfurl behind her, and Winter shook her head.

"No, I'm fine!" she said, face flushing.

Penny smiled and held out her hand for Winter to take.

Winter took it, surprised at how real it felt. Before, she had been able to tell that it was metallic, though only because of the resting temperature and how strong it was, but now...

She couldn't even tell.

Winter blushed again as Penny excitedly pulled her out of the room.

-

Yang picked her sister up, pulling her lips away from Blake's and making her let out a startled "hey!" as she was set back on the ground.

"My turn, Rubes! Now scram, I've got a faunus to make forget her own name."

Blake rolled her eyes and put her arms around Yang's shoulders.

"Promises, promises. Why don't you come over here and show me?" Blake asked.

Yang grinned and reached out, wrapping her arms around her wife's waist and pulling her flush against her front.

"Maybe you should take me to dinner first," Yang said.

"Dust, woman, marrying you wasn't enough?" Blake asked, leaning up to connect their lips.

Ruby, meanwhile, darted over to Weiss, slamming against her through the use of her semblance and tackling her onto the bed.

Ruby grinned down at her excitedly.

"Hi."

Weiss smiles, reaching her hand up to brush Ruby's hair behind her ear.

"Hey."

"Fancy seeing you here," Ruby said.

"I live here."

"No way, so do I!" Ruby responded, leaning down slightly.

"It must be fate," Weiss responded, wrapping her arms around Ruby's shoulders and pulling her down closer.

"I thought you didn't believe in fate," Ruby said.

"You three might just change my mind."

Weiss connected their lips and pulled her in closer.

Ruby eagerly reciprocated, running hand through Weiss' hair.

Behind them, she could hear Blake purring again, and she laughed quietly against Weiss' lips.

-

_'I've been thinking, Gorgeous.'_

"That's never a good thing," Ciel said, smiling at Neo.

They were in a supply closet that Neo had unceremoniously dragged her into when the pair had finished eating.

Ciel could hardly see Neo signing.

They'd been making out a moment before, but Neo has suddenly pulled back.

_'Well, this might be the best thing I've ever thought, then.'_

Ciel raised an eyebrow.

"Better than deciding to make me fall in love with you? Do tell."

_'Well, all of my great ideas have something to do with you. Or making fun of someone, but the best ones are definitely about you.'_

Ciel pulled closer to her girlfriend.

"The suspense is killing me," she said sarcastically.

_'It better be! Cause Gorgeous my heart's racing.'_

Ciel scoffed, so Neo reached down to grab her girlfriend's hand. She pressed it against her chest. She felt the pulse and was surprised to feel it beating at least twice as fast as normal.

"What could possibly have the great Neopolitan _scared_?"

_'You've always been the exception when it comes to me, Gorgeous.'_

Ciel rolled her eyes fondly.

_'I've been thinking about this for a while now.'_

"How long?"

_'Two whole minutes.'_

"Must be serious, then, to not make you bored after all that time."

_'I want it to be all I think about for the rest of my life.'_

"Is it a prank?"

Neo looked at her, and Ciel realized that she was being serious.

"Tell me what it is," she said gently, running a hand down her girlfriend's arm comfortingly.

_'I want to marry you, Gorgeous.'_

-

Weiss chased at Ruby's hand as it attempted to reach up her shirt.

"We have class soon," she said, pulling back just for a moment.

Ruby pouted.

"Penny was gone for like three days, we can be late."

"You know we'll be out for the rest of the day if you don't stop."

"Is she doing it too?" Blake called from across the room.

Blake slapped at Yang's hand as it wandered.

"Yes," Weiss said.

"Maybe we should ditch them," Blake offered.

Weiss grinned, pulling away from Ruby, who groaned.

"Blakey, don't steal her from me!"

"What can I say? I guess I'm just a better charmer than you," Blake said, slipping out of Yang's arms.

She stepped up to the bed, reaching her arms around Ruby and picking her up. Ruby squirmed so that she could face Blake, going in for a kiss.

Weiss grabbed Ruby around the waist and tugged her back.

"Oh no you don't! You already had your chance. Now move it, we don't have long before we have to get back to class."

Blake winked as Ruby trailed off with a small pout.

Weiss moved closer to Blake, sitting on her knees on top of the bed.

Blake smirked and Weiss reached up to put her hands on Blake's collar, pulling her down for a kiss. Blake tried to balance herself, but Weiss toppled backwards on the bed and Blake fell forward with a vaguely surprised sound.

She caught herself by putting her hands parallel to Weiss' shoulders while the former heiress snaked her hands up to the top of Blake's head, tangling it in her hair.

Ruby toppled off the bed, her wives too distracted to notice.

Ruby pouted and trailed off to her sister, standing at her side.

"I'm both jealous and oddly into it," Yang said, smirking.

Ruby flushed and slapped her sister's arm.

"Yang!" she hissed.

Yang laughed, putting her arm on her sister's shoulder.

Blake shifted her weight so that she was balanced on her forearms, dropping down so that she was closer to Weiss. Her wife smiled at the action, wrapping her arms around Blake's waist and holding her gently.

"You're gross, Yang," Ruby muttered, flushing as she looked away.

"Yeah, yeah. They're my wives, they decided to put up with me."

-

"Wait... what?" Ciel asked, eyes wide.

_'I want to marry you.'_

Ciel stared at her.

_'You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Ciel. Meeting you changed my life, and I want to marry you. It doesn't have to be now, it doesn't even have to be in the next decade, bu-'_

Ciel grabbed her hands, holding them gently.

"I want to marry you too."

Neo gently extracted her hands from Ciel's, setting her head against her girlfriend's shoulder.

_'Like... now?'_

Ciel smiled, leaning closer to Neo.

"Like now."

-

Nora pushed Jaune against the bed, leaning down to connect their lips with vigor, one hand running through his hair while the other played with the bottom of his shirt, as if on the verge of reaching up it.

Nora pulled back, and spun to face Ren, smirking. Behind her, Jaune panted for breath. She reached forward and grabbed Ren by the collar of his shirt. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her closer, holding her tightly.

While the two kissed, Jaune caught his breath. When the two pulled back, Ren's gaze flickered to Jaune, and he smirked just slightly.

"You still breathless from my _amazing_ kiss?" Nora asked, winking at him. Jaune flushed and shook his head.

Nora raised an eyebrow, but pulled away from Ren anyways.

Jaune moved closer so that Ren could grab him around the waist, pushing him back against the wall while Jaune put her hands on his shoulders. Ren's right hand moved up a bit to rest it against his chest.

The door opened, and Sun held his hand up in front of his face.

"Dust, is it my fate to always walk in when people are making out?!"

"It's because you don't knock, hun," Ilia said, pushing past him to enter the room.

"I love you, Sunny, but you're really bad at giving people privacy," Pyrrha said.

"Didn't you walk in on team RWBY naked?" Nora asked, watching her boyfriends with a smirk.

Sun flushed.

"That wasn't my fault, they were supposed to be up! It was two in the afternoon!" Sun cried.

"On their honeymoon!" Ilia snapped.

"Two in the afternoon!"

" _On their honeymoon!_ "

Sun rolled his eyes before stalking toward his bed.

"Nora, have them wrap it up, I already threw up in my mouth a bit," Sun said.

"Counterpoint: you could use our distraction to have some fun of your own," Nora said.

Sun's eyebrows raised and he glanced at his girlfriends.

Ilia and Pyrrha were already locked at the lips, Pyrrha lifting their girlfriend into the air, holding her by the legs, and walking over to bed. Ilia let out a quiet giggle against her lips as Pyrrha sat down, reaching a hand up to undo Ilia's ponytail while the faunus' legs wrapped around her waist.

Sun watched with a small, fond smile. He knew that the two had been together far longer than he'd been with them, and he didn't want to intrude. He stood-

He was stopped as Pyrrha reached her hand out to grab onto his arm, pulling him back.

She gently detached her lips from Ilia's, running them down the side of her face for a moment before turning to Sun.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?"

"Anywhere you want me!" Sun said, flopping onto the bed.

Ilia rolled her eyes.

"You're so weird," she muttered, pulling away from Pyrrha, who reached out to grab Sun by the waist and pull him close.

"I know right?" Sun asked, connecting his lips with Pyrrha and falling against her. He likely expected her to fall backwards against the bed, but she sat straight, and Sun found himself in her lap, his hands holding her arms. On hand strayed to grab her waist, clutching it tightly as Pyrrha deepened the kiss.

When the two pulled apart, Pyrrha turned to face Ilia with a small, fond smile. The chameleon faunus moved closer, and Pyrrha gave her a quick peck on the lips before moving back.

Sun watched her go with a foolish grin, his gaze shifting to Ilia as she sat in front of him.

His tail wagged for a moment before it reached forward to grab her around the waist, pulling her closer as he connected their lips. This time, the girl he was kissing fell back against the bed with a small, adorable, grunt of surprise, and Sun leaned over her. One hand reached up to mess with her hair while the other held him up. Ilia had both of her hands on his shirt collar, pulling him impossibly closer.

As the two pulled back to suck in deep breaths, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Salutations, Friends! I have returned, and I require your presence for a group meeting!" Penny called.

Nora groaned, detaching her lips from Jaune's regrettably.

Jaune seemed slightly dazed as Ren took his hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Don't think we're through, Jauney. I've still got more in store for you," Nora said with a wink, causing her boyfriend to blush.

The team walked to the door, Sun opening it with his tail.

"Pen! It's so good to see you, and-"

Sun paused, eyes going wide.

"You look great! Did you get a haircut?" he asked.

Penny looked confused for a moment before she laughed.

"I was upgraded! Now come on, we have to get the rest of the group!"

Penny pulled Winter down the hall, and Sun couldn't help but snicker at how distracted the Schnee looked as she watched Penny. Sun guessed it wasn't everyday that your girlfriend got "redesigned" and "upgraded."

From Winter's face, Sun could tell that she clearly thought it was an improvement.

-

Coco smirked as she leaned closer to Velvet.

"So romantic, don't you think? Just you, me, and our nosy teammates," she said.

Velvet giggled and Fox groaned.

"Can you two just make out already?! I'm tired of hearing Coco try to be funny."

"I don't try, Fox, I **am**."

Velvet closed the distance between them, connecting her lips with Coco's and cradling her face almost reverently. Coco grabbed her around the waist and pulled her impossibly closer, Velvet landing in her laps.

Just as Fox was starting to voice his regret at having told them to kiss, there was a knock at the door.

Coco detached her lips from Velvet's.

"Fox, get the door, we're busy."

Coco leaned back forward and kissed her girlfriend deeply.

The door swung open, and Coco moved her lips to Velvet's neck, making the faunus flush a dark red.

"Coco, we have guests!" she hissed quietly. Coco didn't seem to care as much as Velvet, and the fuanus squirmed in her grip to escape.

Coco finally let her go with a huff, glancing over her shoulder to see who had possibly interrupted her time with Velvet.

Her frown soon turned into a grin, however, and she stood, still cradling Velvet in her arms.

"Pen! It's been too long!"

"Friend Coco! It's a pleasure to see you again."

Team CFVY stared at Penny.

"Velvs, is it possibly we made out for years and Penny went through some kind of transformation?"

"I can't believe I'm dignifying this with an answer, but no."

"Good. You look great, by the way!" Coco called to Penny, pushing her sunglasses down so that Penny could see her wink. "Looks like Winter agrees, too."

Winter flushed, tearing her gaze from Penny to look around the room.

Penny glanced at her girlfriend, frowning in confusion at Coco's comment.

"So, what's up?" Coco asked, finally loosening her grip on Velvet just slightly.

"Apparently we're having a very important group meeting that has to interrupt everyone's make out sessions," Nora said, crossing her arms.

"Is that really what everyone's doing?" Fox asked.

Coco looked at team JNIPRS, and laughed.

"Sure looks like it! Love the hair, Jaune."

Jaune jumped and tried to fix the mess Nora had made.

-

Team RWBY's door was slammed open, causing the four to groan in frustration. Ruby instantly grew excited when she saw a familiar figure.

"Penny! You look all... different!" Ruby cried as she used her semblance to race over to Penny and give her a tight hug.

"Yeah, you could say that," Winter muttered under her breath, flushing when she realized she'd said it aloud.

Her sister glanced at her, smirking. Weiss elbowed Yang and subtly pointed at Winter. Yang snickered quietly, barely holding in the louder laugh she wanted to give.

"You look great, Pen!" Ruby cried.

"Yeah, but I think you're about to give your poor girlfriend a heart attack," Yang said.

Penny frowned in concern, glancing at Winter.

"Her pulse is elevated above normal levels, but she doesn't seem to be exhibiting any of the common symptoms of a heart atta-"

"That's not what I meant, Pen," Yang said, smirking at Winter, who glared at her vehemently.

Winter looked far less threatening, however, with her face almost the color of Ruby's cloak.

Penny seemed confused, and was about to ask for Yang to elaborate, but Winter interrupted.

"This isn't all of us! We still haven't found Neo and Ciel! Penny, let's go get them so you can talk to us!"

"That's a great idea!" Penny said, grabbing her girlfriend's hand and tugging her down the hall. Winter let out a breath of relief while Yang rolled her eyes.

-

Neo tugged her girlfriend out of the supply closet with a grin.

"Neo, where are we going?"

_'The nearest place to get married!'_

"So when you said now, you meant today?"

_'Obviously!'_

Ciel couldn't find it in herself to be frustrated. In fact, she found the whole ordeal rather... romantic.

Yes, despite Ciel's protests, Neo was quite charming, and she seemed to be no matter _what_ she was doing. Or maybe that was just a side effect of being in love. Ciel couldn't be sure, considering Neo was the only person she'd ever been in love with. The only person she'd even **dated**.

An idea struck her, and she suddenly smirked at Neo.

"What's this, your fifth spontaneous wedding?"

Neo snorted silently.

"Tenth?"

Neo held up one finger.

"I find that hard to believe," Ciel said, elbowing her in an uncharacteristically playful way.

_'Gorgeous, you're the only one that could ever tie me down, you know that.'_

"Your exes must be jealous."

Neo didn't respond.

"You do have exes, right?"

Neo slowly shook her head, and Ciel stared at her in shock.

"Have you never dated anyone before?"

_'Gorgeous, I was in an illegal gang of criminals for almost my entire life, and before that I was a street urchin. When exactly do you think I found the time to go about using my charm on women who were far less pretty than yourself?'_

Ciel found the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"I always assumed that... that I was just the most recent on your list of women you'd charmed with the whole 'criminal with a heart of gold' act."

_'I guess technically speaking you are. But you're almost the only one on that list.'_

Ciel flushed.

 _'I always told you this, Gorgeous, but you never seemed to believe me,'_ Neo paused and turned to face Ciel, face growing serious, _'You're it for me. This isn't some act, some way to get out of trouble that eventually blossomed into love. From the moment I saw you, I knew that was it.'_

Ciel blushed a dark red, and she rubbed at her eyes to keep from crying.

"Let's go get married."

They hurried down the hall.

"Friends Ciel and Neo! There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" Penny called.

Penny raced toward the couple.

_'How about we postpone that wedding just a few minutes so we can say hello to your best friend, Gorgeous?'_

"Sounds alright with me," Ciel said, grunting as she hit the ground from the force of Penny's hug.

"I missed you two!" Penny said happily, hugging Ciel close.

"We missed you too, Penny. And it looks like you got back just in time."

-

Penny led the group to a classroom so that they could speak, but Yang grabbed her the moment they were about to enter the room.

"Pen, Winter probably just said 'you look fine' or 'you look just as physically appealing as you did before' and acted like an actual robot, but the way she's looking at you is **definitely** the look of someone who's overwhelmed by how hot they thing their girlfriend is."

Penny took a moment to think before she grinned brightly.

"Thank you, Friend Yang! That was very insightful and kind of you!"

Yang didn't mention that she only said it to mess with Winter, and gave Penny a kind smile before stepping inside.

Penny bounced in behind her, going to stand beside Winter, giving her a wide smile. Winter gave her a tight lipped one in return, her gaze purposefully not landing on Penny.

Penny grabbed her girlfriend's hands gently, turning Winter to face her.

Winter's eyes flickered over her, and she flushed deeply.

Penny grinned excitedly and gave Yang a thumbs up, as if to say "you were actually right!"

"So, what was this favor you left us for?" Coco asked, leaning against her girlfriend.

"Oh! Right!" Penny pulled away from a distracted Winter, pulling the large package off of her back.

"I got this!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wanted to say this somewhere, and I finally remembered. I've seen a lot of jokes about how Qrow looks like Ruby's real dad, and in another Pollination fic it's Raven who's her father, weirdly (linked in life and love, the best fic I've ever read for this ship or maybe fandom).
> 
> I personally always assumed that it was clear Summer asexually reproduced and then Ruby was born.
> 
> Oh! One more thing: The redesign that Penny went through in this chapter is the one she went through in canon after being rebuilt, just in case that wasn't clear!


	25. The Swordsman and the Fool

"What exactly _is_ that?" Coco asked, frowning at the bag Penny held. It was almost like a duffel bag, but after it had been mixed with a dress bag. It was a light tan shade, just almost see through.

"It's a favor and a gift!" Penny said.

"Yeah... that's a real pretty bag, Penny," Nora said.

"Babe, the gift's what's _inside_ of the bag," Jaune said. He paused to think. "Hopefully. Penny, you didn't get someone a bag as a gift, right?"

"Nope! This is a gift for one of Friend Oscar's teammates, and I wanted to ask Friend Yang to give it to her!"

"Why me?"

Penny unzipped the bag slowly, Winter grabbing to to help extract the cargo.

"I thought that you of all people would know how to handle this matter... delicately."

The cargo was now fully out of the bag and in full sight for everyone in the room. There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at it, eyes wide. Two pristine brown wings were held gently in Penny's hands, and she moved them toward Yang.

"These are for Natalie," she said, though it sounded almost like a question.

"Of course! I spoke to my father about what happened, just like I did with you, Friend Yang, and he offered to build this for her! It was very sweet."

Yang grabbed the wings and ran her left hand along it gently.

"Wow, it feels almost like-"

"Real wings! Yes! These took my father much longer than your arm did, Friend Yang, because faunus bat wings have to be very life-like in order to function properly! It works by attaching to the body and the broken neurons to carry an electrical charge sent from the brain to-"

Winter set a hand on Penny's shoulder, and she stopped, realizing that nobody in the room could understand what she was saying. She considered for a moment before speaking again.

"It... hooks up to the nervous system and lets her control them with her mind, just like Friend Yang's arm!"

Yang raised her hand and make the fingers wiggle, which elicited a laugh from Penny.

"Her partner, Ms. Hanson, specifically asked me to speak to the man who had made Friend Yang's prosthetic and myself in order to have the best one for Ms. Vine!"

Yang lifted the wings experimentally with one hand before she reached out to grab the bag.

"I have her next period, I'll make sure to give it to her then."

Penny grinned in excitement, clapping her hands.

"Wonderful! I hope that Ms. Vine appreciates them!"

"I'm sure she will. This was very thoughtful of you," Winter said, smiling down at her girlfriend.

Penny leaned against her side, and Winter wrapped an arm around her waist.

The warning bell rang, and Yang cursed, gently putting the wings back into the bag before hastily zipping it.

"See you after class!" she said, leaning down to give Blake a quick kiss and ruffling Weiss' hair, making the former heiress let out a "hey!"

Ruby gave Weiss a peck on the lips before using her semblance to hurry to Blake and do the same. She hesitated by the door, smiling.

"Pen, if you need a few minutes, I can start class on my own."

Penny frowned in confusion, but Ruby disappeared in a cloud of red roses before she could question her.

"Me too, Winter," Weiss said, giving Blake a quick kiss before hurrying out.

Blake rolled her eyes, turning to Ilia.

"I'm not doing this on my own so you can make out some more, come on."

Ilia chuckled, following her fellow faunus out of the room hurriedly.

Soon, the entire group had filed out of the room, leaving Penny and Winter alone with the door shut.

Winter kept her gaze roaming around the room, careful not to let her eyes land on her girlfriend.

Penny took a deep breath.

"Girlfriend Winter," the Schnee jumped, "I heard a few comments about how you felt about my new design. If you dislike it, I can-"

"I like it!" Winter said hurriedly. She flushed a light shade of pink at the admission.

Penny beamed at her.

"That's not to say that I didn't like your design before, obviously, but I... can appreciate your new appearance in a way befitting of someone in a romantic relationship with you."

Penny laughed, leaning closer to her.

"I've been informed by friends countless times that such analytical words aren't romantic."

Winter flushed deeper.

"I have never been one that is... adept at romantic drivel."

"Maybe you should just try. I've been told that trying is the easiest way to succeed."

Winter chuckled quietly, glancing at Penny for the first time since the conversation had started. Her eyes flickered down her form, and Penny smiled brightly.

"You look... very pretty, Penny."

Penny **beamed** , moving her hands up to grab Winter's own.

"Thank you, Girlfriend Winter."

Winter leaned down and connected their lips, making Penny giggle quietly, moving her hands so that they cradled Winter's face.

-

Rachel grinned, jumping up and down to get herself ready.

"You finally going to show us that semblance of yours?" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"That's the plan! Been saving up all week for it!"

"That's been the plan since Tuesday," Natalie remarked.

"Today's Friday," Ivy added, swaying back and forth.

"I know what day it is. Today is _the day_! You're going to _love_ my semblance, by the way. And I don't even need to use a blanket to charge it!"

"You're literally the one that threatened me with physical violence if I didn't wear this blanket," Natalie said.

"For the last time, touching you is _not physical violence_!" Rachel snapped.

"You say tomato, I say sexual harassment," Natalie said.

"Oh, please! You're _so_ not my type," Rachel replied, grabbing her ankle in her hand and stretching her quad.

"Is that so?" Natalie asked.

"I'm not into emo chicks."

"I'm not emo," Natalie snapped.

"You're kind of emo," Oscar added.

Natalie glared at the pair.

"Besides, I _know_ I'm not your type, Nat," Rachel said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"There are four definitions for the word type," Ivy noted.

"Okay, you can't 'just know that!'" Natalie said, raising the pitch of her voice at the end to emulate her partner's voice.

"No, I know it because I'm literate," Ivy responded, bouncing back and forth.

"I legitimately can't tell if that was an insult or if you're just being yourself," Natalie replied.

"Yes," Ivy said distractedly. "Our teachers are running late."

"We can tell, they're not here," Rachel said irritably. She'd been waiting for this class _all day_!

"This is right after lunch. They probably all got distracted by each other and don't know what time it is. The only ones in their classrooms right now are probably Ciel and Neo," Oscar said.

Ivy smiled broadly.

"Yes, they were distracted, but not just by each other."

Her teammates glanced at her.

"What else would they be distracted by?" Rachel asked. Her eyes suddenly shone with excitement. "Is there another giant fight we can help with?! It could be called The Fall of Beacon: The Refallening!"

"That's not a word," Oscar said.

"Isn't it fascinating watching the monkeys try to communicate?" Natalie asked. Rachel glared at her, but she got a laugh out of Ivy.

As the clock ticked closer to the beginning of class, a form appeared beside Ivy, who had been watching their advancement with her mind's eye.

"Hello, Amanda," she said without turning.

Amanda jumped in surprise, but she smiled after a moment.

"Hi, Ivy," she said with a small, hesitant wave. "Is this seat taken?" she asked, gesturing at the one beside Ivy.

"I don't think so. I don't know much about the romantic lives of chairs, though," Rachel called.

"It's not taken," Ivy said.

Natalie watched Amanda, eyes narrowed, as the girl sat down next to Ivy.

"It's good to see you again."

Ivy gave her the usual, distracted smile she gave everyone.

"Did you know that when you dream, the human mind can't make up faces, so it uses ones it's already seen before?" Ivy asked.

"Are you saying you dreamed of me?" Amanda asked.

"She's saying that she's happy to see you too," Natalie said, her voice only slightly more hostile than normal. "She means that she's glad she's _actually_ seeing you, instead of seeing you with her semblance."

Ivy turned her gaze to Natalie, and her smile widened.

"You're learning."

Natalie looked away, nodding silently.

"That's... a very interesting way of saying that you're glad I'm here," Amanda said slowly.

"She's an interesting person," Natalie said.

"I know," Amanda responded. "What's your semblance, Ivy?"

Natalie almost snapped and told Amanda it was none of her business, but Ivy spoke first.

"I see things."

"And know things, apparently," Rachel said, finally stopping her odd stretches and taking a seat beside Oscar.

"What all do you know?" Amanda asked.

"Whatever the world around me does," Ivy said. She suddenly smirked, glancing at Natalie. "Which, according to some people, isn't much."

"You're darn right," Natalie muttered.

Ivy swayed back and forth gently, her movements slow as she watched the front of the room.

"Three, two, one," Ivy counted quietly. When she hit the last number, Yang burst into the room just as the bell rung. Coco and Ren followed after her a moment later, and Yang turned to smirk at Coco.

"Why, Ms. Adel, do my eyes deceive me, or were you just late to your own class?!"

"You tripped me in the hallway," Coco said, rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses.

"You're still late. Very unprofessional," Yang said.

Coco huffed, turning to face the students.

"Did you know that helium is less dense than the atmosphere, which is why it's a finite resource."

"You told me that yesterday, Ives," Natalie said.

"What's with the bag?" Rachel asked, frowning at the large tan object that Yang gently set on the desk.

"Dreams," Ivy said distantly, smiling widely to herself.

Natalie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Whose?" she asked.

Ivy just hummed in response.

Yang turned to face the class, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"So, who wants to _finally_ show off their hand-to-hand combat skills?"

Rachel's hand was in the air before Yang could even finish speaking, and she laughed.

"Who wants to see what Ms. Fern can do?"

There were no volunteers.

"Ren, you wanna see what she's got?" Yang asked.

Ren nodded silently, standing and striding over to Rachel as she all but skipped down the stairs.

He leaned down to whisper to her.

"I'm going to go easy on you, give you the chance to show what you can do. Tell me if things get too tough."

Rachel rolled her eyes, popping her neck and rolling her shoulders.

"Don't worry about me! I can handle myself just fine, yessiree!"

Ren raised a single eyebrow before he nodded, taking a few steps back. Rachel raised her fist, taking a deep, calming breath.

"The greatest swordsman doesn't fear the second greatest swordsman," Ivy began, "he fears the fool who's never held a sword before in his life."

"Why?" Amanda asked, perplexed.

"Because the fool doesn't attack like the swordsman would expect. He strikes randomly, inconsistently, and, most importantly, unpredictably."

Amanda frowned.

"I don't see how that's relevant to the fight."

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Ren's the swordsman. He's well trained, professional, and knows how to handle him. Rachel's the fool, who's unpredictable," she explained.

Ivy nodded as she swayed back and forth.

"That's the best metaphor I've ever heard. Not only did you use a great one, but you called Rachel a fool! I've gotta write this down," Oscar said, scrambling to find a pen. Natalie laughed, handing him her own.

"You gotta tell her about this. She's not gonna believe that Ivy said something that rude," Natalie said.

"I know!"

Down below, Rachel took one final deep breath, letting her eyes fall shut.

"The match starts... now!" Coco said dramatically.

Rachel's eyes flashed open, and they glowed a dark shade of gray, almost black, as her body started to shimmer and glow with her.

Ren raised his fists in front of him, watching her with a sort of calm, composed interest, as if wondering it it might rain later today.

Rachel raised her fists as well, grinning as her image seemed to flicker in front of Ren.

Ren raised his fist and punched at her.

Rachel raised her arm and blocked the blow, moving with impossible speed. She reached her other hand up and grabbed onto Ren's arm with it, tugging him forward. He stumbled at the force of it, and she ducked, crouching low and letting him go flying over her back. She let go of his arm and took a step back, fists raised.

Ren rolled to his feet, and he raised his fists. Rachel stopped glowing suddenly, and Ren seemed to take that of a sign of weakness. The pair circled one another menacingly. Ren was the first to make a move, rushing at her with a ninja's speed, fist swinging forward.

Rachel glowed instantly, body turning a dark shade of shimmering gray, and she ducked with impossible speed, bringing her own fist upward and hitting him square in the chest. He went flying, hitting the ground a fair ways away.

Rachel stopped shimmering, watching him with a sort of distrust. Her eyes glowed, though the rest of her body stayed dull, and her gaze flickered around the room, landing on her team. She smirked, waving at them. Despite being so far away, she could see them with striking clarity, as she imagined most faunus saw all the time.

With her aura boosted, she felt a sense of warning as Ren got back to his feet. Her eyes dulled, and she smirked at him.

Ren eyed her warily. She knew he wasn't trying his hardest, but she still felt good about surprising him so many times.

Ren analyzed her as the pair circled one another, fists raised. He blinked, and she was suddenly glowing again, racing toward him with speed he'd only seen beaten by Ruby and Harriet. He threw himself to the side, but she was there, fist jabbing him in the chest and causing his dodge to become added momentum to his fall toward the ground.

"Okay, what's going on out there?" Oscar asked.

"Haven't you ever seen Rachel suddenly become tired or almost blind? Slow and uncoordinated?" Ivy asked.

Oscar considered for a moment. He supposed he had, especially at meals and before they went to sleep.

"What about it?" he asked.

Rachel stopped shimmering as Ren became more serious. She bounced on her feet almost nervously.

"She was charging," Ivy responded.

Suddenly, Rachel positively shown with light, and she raced forward with speed she hadn't shown earlier. Ren dropped back, but Rachel's blazing eyes saw the small shift in weight. He was going to try and take her by surprise. He wasn't going to dodge. Rachel quadrupled the power of her right arm and both her legs. Just as Ren was about to throw his punch, she stopped in place, a loud skidding sound echoing through the classroom. She ducked, planting her feet with certainty. Her fist shot forward with strength and speed impossible for any normal human being. She hit Ren square in the chest, causing him to go flying back until he hit the wall.

Rachel stopped shimmering, taking a deep breath. She forced strength into her chest, letting her absorb more oxygen to help keep her vision from blurring.

"Great job, Ms. Fern!" Coco cried, slapping her on the arm.

"That was awesome! Never seen someone confuse Ren like that," Yang cried excitedly.

Rachel laughed, shaking her head. She'd almost forgotten to breathe during her fight, which was a horrible idea. And she'd charged up all of that lung space earlier, only to forget until the last minute! All those times she had to gasp for breath during class, take those annoying deep breaths that her teammates seemed to think were calming her nerves.

"How'd you do all that?" Yang asked, clapping a hand on her arm.

"That's a secret," Rachel said, winking.

"Pyrrha's taught you well!" Coco said, grinning.

As Rachel ran up the stairs to join her teammates, Ivy quietly explained it to her friends.

"She stores different qualities and attributes, and can then use it later. For example, if she spends an hour being half as strong as usual, and can be twice as strong for an hour. Or four times as strong for half an hour."

Rachel fell against her seat, rubbing at her eyes.

"Was that awesome or what?!"

"Or what," Natalie said, voice monotone. Ivy elbowed her. Natalie rolled her eyes. "Fine, it was pretty awesome."

"Heck yeah!"


	26. Flying High

Rachel yawned, letting her head fall against Natalie's shoulder.

Natalie glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you charging?"

"I used a lot in that fight. Wanted to impress people," Rachel replied, blinking heavily.

Natalie considered for a long moment before raising her arm and wrapping the blanket around her teammate's shoulders.

"Aww, look who's being nice for once," Rachel said, shifting beside her.

"Just shut up and charge," Natalie muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Don't fall asleep. Coco likes to scare people when they fall asleep in class," Oscar said. "Once, Nora fell asleep on the airship and Coco used Nora's own bullhorn to wake her up."

"Sounds like her," Natalie said.

"Bullhorns can amplify your voice to up to ninety decibels," Ivy said.

"Did that mean something important?" Amanda asked.

"No, sometimes she just likes to say random stuff that she knows," Natalie responded. "There's a lot of it."

"Did you know that the universe is always expanding because of the remaining force from the big bang?" Ivy asked.

"You're getting sloppy, Ives. You said that one yesterday," Natalie said.

"I didn't hear it yesterday," Rachel muttered against Natalie's shoulder.

"Yes, you did. Are you charging up brain power too?" Natalie asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes."

"Wait, can you do that?" Natalie glanced at her partner. "Can she do that?"

"Yes, she can," Ivy said, bouncing back and forth to the tune in her own head.

"That's awesome," Natalie said.

"My brain hurts," Rachel mumbled.

Natalie snorted.

"Shut up, Yang looks like she's about to start a lecture," Oscar told them.

"There's precisely thirty-five seconds remaining in class," Ivy responded.

"Sometimes you should just let people live in ignorance," Natalie said as the bell rang, standing up and helping Rachel to her feet.

As team ORIN headed to the exit, Ivy walked slowly, causing her teammates to match her pace.

"Ives, are you coming?" Natalie asked.

Ivy didn't respond, and smiled when she heard Yang.

"Ms. Vine, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Natalie hesitated, passing Rachel over to Oscar, causing her to mumble something about her head.

"Good luck," Oscar said.

Natalie let out a sigh before trailing to the front of the class. She glanced over her shoulder at her teammates. Ivy was the only one who hadn't left quite yet, and she gave her partner a wide smile before exiting, Amanda at her side. Natalie scowled at the last addition, but didn't say anything about it. What _could_ she say about it? It wasn't her problem who Ivy decided to hang out with.

Natalie turned her attention back to Yang, surprised to find that she was already leaving the room.

"You coming?" Yang asked, holding the door open.

Natalie hurried after her, vaguely wondering if she was going to be murdered by her teacher. She supposed that wouldn't be the worst way to go out, as long as it was quick. Still better than drowning.

"Coco, you got me covered?" Yang asked.

"Nah. Don't want to make Blake and Weiss jealous."

"Just shut up and teach until I get back," Yang said, rolling her eyes.

"Why can't Ren do it?"

"The longest I've ever heard Ren speak was for thirty seconds. Do you think he's going to want to give a lecture?"

"Fine," Coco said with a dramatic sigh.

Yang rolled her eyes, leading Natalie down the hall.

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked. "I have to get to sparring class, and Ms. Soleil hates it when students are late."

"Don't worry, I already talked to Ciel. And we're going outside."

There was a beat of silence as they walked.

"Did Ciel really throw a piece of chalk at someone that got in late?" Yang asked, grinning.

"Actually, Ms. Neopolitan threw the chalk, but Ms. Soleil didn't yell at her about it."

"So basically she wanted Neo to do it," Yang said, laughing and shaking her head.

Yang stepped outside, and Natalie followed her, eyeing the large tan package she was holding in one arm.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Natalie asked, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Take that stupid blanket off," Yang said, gesturing vaguely at the student.

Natalie let it slip off her shoulders and hit the ground.

"Why do you wear that thing anyways?" Yang asked, leaning against the side of the wall.

"Helps with my semblance."

Yang nodded, looking straight ahead as she weighed her words.

"You say it still hurts?"

Natalie jumped at the sudden change of conversation.

"I... I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to."

Yang waved her metallic hand dismissively.

"Please, Blake's my wife, she tells me everything... except where she hides those damn cookies for Ruby. Can't get that secret out of her. But that's not important."

Natalie took a second to think.

"Yeah, it still hurts," she said, hands gripping her ribs as she curled in on herself slightly.

Yang raised her right hand, letting the metal fingers slowly rise and fall individually. Natalie watched the movement.

"Mine did too. Still does, sometimes. Not quite like how you talk about, but... sometimes it still feels empty, even with the prosthetic."

Natalie tore her gaze away from Yang's hand, looking out at the sky in front of her. She wiped at her eyes hastily.

"The prosthetic... it doesn't replace what I lost," Yang said slowly, as if worried she might say the wrong thing. "It just... helps me move on with my life. What I lost doesn't stop me."

Yang finally looked at Natalie, stopping long enough to make the faunus glance at her.

"And you shouldn't let it stop you either."

Yang tossed the bag at Natalie, who caught it gently, cradling it against her chest.

"What's this?" Natalie asked.

"Open it," Yang said.

Natalie reached down, struggling with the zipper with shaking fingers. After a minute of trial and error, Yang snorted.

"Gimme that," she said, taking the package from Natalie and opening it. She held it toward the faunus, who reached inside, pulling out one of the large objects out with a confused expression.

She suddenly gasped, grip loosening on the prosthetic. It dropped toward the ground, and Yang reached out to catch it.

Natalie's hand reached up to cover her mouth in shock, eyes wide and filled with tears as she stared down at the wing.

"I think this is the left one, but you'd know than me," Yang said.

Natalie didn't move, gaze locked on the prosthetic.

"You wanna try them on or keep staring at them? Cause I've got a class to get back to before Coco burns the building down."

Natalie reached out with a shaking hand, running her fingers along the wing in reverence.

"Need some help?" Yang asked gently.

Natalie nodded slowly, wiping at her eyes.

"I gotta ask, did you have to wear some sort of special shirt or something for these?" she asked, moving behind Natalie's back.

Natalie laughed, the sound wet with tears.

"I just cut holes in them."

Yang grinned.

"Great idea. Just give me a second..."

There was a quiet ripping sound before Yang grinned at two thin lines cut through Natalie's clothes.

"Okay, so I'm gonna have to touch your back, that okay?"

Natalie nodded slowly, still in a state of shock.

Yang gently attached the first wing before moving to the other side and repeating the action. The wings were large in proportion to Natalie, the wingspan longer than Yang was tall, and could probably rival Pyrrha and Jaune too. They sat limply at Natalie's side, as if the faunus couldn't believe they were real.

"Well, try them out!" Yang said.

The right wing raised just slightly, stretching out to its full length before flapping experimentally.

Natalie suddenly grinned in excitement, the other wing raised at her side, moving almost jerkily, as if she couldn't quite remember exactly how they worked. After a moment of experimentation, stretching the wings and moving them back and forth, Yang shook her head, smiling fondly.

"Go ahead."

Natalie glanced at her, beaming. She took a deep, calming breath, hoping it would slow her racing pulse. She bounced on the tips of her toes before jumping into the air, wings flapping hard. She was propelled a fair ways off the ground, causing her to laugh in excitement.

Yang watched her, arms crossed with a gentle smile on her lips.

Natalie raised higher into the air, laughing as she felt the wind in her hair, the sense of weightlessness that she'd almost forgotten. She flew around the small courtyard, letting out cries of excitement as she went. A few minutes later, she landed down beside Yang.

Natalie rushed forward and pulled her teacher in for a tight hug.

"I can't thank you enough!" she said, eyes clouding with tears and she held Yang.

"Well, it's not me you need to thank," Yang said, reaching her left hand up to wipe at the faunus' tears.

"What?"

"I'm not the one who thought about getting you the wings. I'm just the messenger."

"Who was it?"

-

Yang watched the faunus as she picked up the blanket, pulling her new prosthetics close as she threw the blanket around herself. She was smiling like a fool, practically bouncing up and down in her excitment.

"Are you sure there's nothing I could do to thank you?" Natalie asked, staring at Yang intently.

The teacher waved her hand.

"I'm sure. I'm just happy I was able to help."

Natalie wiped at her eyes, clearing the last of her tears.

"Thank you," she breathed before racing inside.

Yang watched her go with a fond smile on her lips. Yang had been worried about starting teaching, but it turned out that she actually liked kids, even the moody teenagers. She shook her head and stepped inside, knowing that she would get an earful from Coco about taking so long outside.

As Yang headed toward her classroom, she found herself excited to tell her teammates about what she'd done with Natalie today.

-

The bell rang just as Natalie reached the classroom, but she didn't care. She waited outside the door with impatience, ignoring the students that glanced at her with confusion as they passed.

Finally, her teammates stepped out, and Natalie all but threw herself at Ivy, engulfing her in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she breathed, pulling her partner in closer.

Ivy smile gently, setting her head against Natalie's shoulder as the faunus clutched her tightly.

"Uh, guys? You're kind of blocking the doorway," Oscar said. When they didn't respond, Rachel pushed them both out of the way, letting students pass them with grumbles about team ORIN being dramatic.

Natalie barely held back tears as she finally pulled back from Ivy, putting her hands on her partner's shoulders.

"Are they comfortable?" Ivy asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah... yeah, they're exactly the same as my old ones."

"I told Penny the measurements," Ivy said idly, smiling up at Natalie.

"Anyone care to explain what exactly is going on?" Rachel asked. She'd stopped charging for the time being, having stored up a fair bit since her spar against Ren.

Natalie grinned, throwing the blanket over Rachel's face and letting her wings stretch out (she almost hit a passing student in the face, but she didn't care in the slightest).

"You can have that back, Rach," she said. Natalie hadn't wanted to admit it, but the real reason she'd kept the blanket after the first day of using it had been because it felt so similar to when she used to wrap her wings around herself.

Oscar gasped while Rachel tore the blanket off of her face.

"What do you mean I can-"

She stopped when she saw her teammate, eyes going wide.

"Are those-"

"Prosthetics? Yeah. Apparently Ivy went to ask Penny about them," Natalie said, her gaze returning to her partner.

The faunus' face turned a light shade of red and she quickly pulled back from Ivy.

"That's awesome!" Rachel said, racing over and grabbing one of the wings, running her thumb over it. Natalie glared playfully at her, tugging the wing out of her grasp.

"Wow! It feels so realistic!"

Oscar gave Natalie a wide smile.

"I'm really happy for you, Nat," he said gently, setting his hand on her shoulder.

Natalie grinned back at him, laughing in excitement.

As they walked to their next class, Rachel enthusiastically tried to play with the wings, which caused Natalie to growl at her, though it was playful.

"I have a question," Rachel said suddenly.

Natalie raised an eyebrow.

"Do you sleep upside down?"

"That might be one of the most racist things I've ever heard," Natalie said.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"It's not racist! I need to _know_ this, Nat! You're my teammate!"

Natalie scoffed.

"No, I don't sleep upside down, Rachel. You're lucky we're friends, because I would have beat you up for asking me that otherwise."

Rachel grinned.

"You said we're friends! No take backs!"

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Wasn't going to."

Rachel grinned in excitement, practically skipping down the hallway.

-

It was their final class, and the four were sitting in their seats just as the bells rang.

Ruby ran down the steps to the front of the class, standing in front of team ORIN, who were seated at the front of the class for once.

Ivy stared at Ruby with a small frown. She turned to Natalie, reaching her hand out to touch the wings. Natalie glanced at her with a small smile.

"Wh-... what are you doing?" Natalie asked.

"Did you know that when a faunus and a person have a child, it's usually a faunus, and it can be the same type as the parent, or a different one?"

Natalie flushed a dark shade of red and looked away. Ruby glanced at the pair and eyed them for a long moment before turning back to Penny.

"Hey, Nat, your book's on fire," Rachel said, smirking.

Natalie jumped and slapped her hand against it to smother the flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter right here is where the original characters start to become important to the over arching story, especially the part after this one. They're setting it up for me, because otherwise it would kinda just come outta nowhere.
> 
> ALSO: If any super nerd, such as myself, wanted to know what kind of bat I was basing Natalie's faunus form off of, it's a species of megabat called the giant golden-crowned flying fox which can have a wingspan of 1.5-1.7 meters or 4 ft 10 in–5 ft 7 in, which is INSANE! Like they weigh 0.7–1.2 kg (1.5–2.6 lb), and their wings are GIANT! I seriously suggest you look up a picture, because now I finally understand how people could look up in the sky and go "yeah that's not a bat that's a human with bat wings come to steal my soul"
> 
> So yeah I guess you can say that I've done my research for this, into RWBY random facts, facts I have Ivy say, and now about megabats. That last one while haunt my dreams.


	27. Sly Ivy

Ivy sat by her teammates in Winter and Weiss' class, Theoretical Dust Studies, staring up at the two sisters.

She raised her hand in the middle of Winter's lecture, not realizing that her teacher was still speaking. Winter hesitated, raising an eyebrow.

"What is it, Ms. Hanson?" she asked irritably.

"Is it true that there's been a new type of dust discovered in Atlas?" Ivy asked.

Winter barely held herself back from rolling her eyes.

"Ms. Hanson, there's new types of dust discovered every week, as I've been explaining for the-"

"For the last six hundred and thirty-nine seconds, yes, I know, but I'm not talking about different strands of the same family of dust," Ivy said dismissively, gaining a look of surprise from Winter. "I'm talking about the _new_ family, discovered just a few months ago, right after Beacon was starting to be rebuilt."

Winter frowned, glancing at Weiss.

"Which dust are you referring to?"

"The puerulus dust, of course."

Winter hesitated.

"I have... heard of it, yes."

"What does it do?" Ivy asked, smirking.

"I'm... not entirely sure," Winter said.

There was a moment of whispering throughout the class.

"Ives, did you just mess with Ms. Schnee?" Natalie whispered.

Ivy shook her head, swaying from side to side with a wide smile.

"Absolutely not. I just tipped over a domino."

"Ives, I'm getting better at understanding your weird metaphors, but you lost me," Natalie said.

"It's the butterfly effect. You know what that means, right?"

"I'm not stupid," Natalie huffed, rolling her eyes. "I just don't see how it applies."

"You're not the one that needs to."

-

As team ORIN left their final class, Natalie felt almost skipping like her partner, grinning to herself.

"That's the happiest I've ever seen you," Rachel said.

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"Look like Ivy's pretty good at making you smile."

Natalie flushed.

"Did you know that it takes less muscles to smile than it does to frown?" Ivy asked.

Natalie shook her head with a small, fond smile as they headed toward their dorm room. There were loud footsteps behind them, and Natalie could recognize them with a shot of her echolocation. She frowned as the footsteps sped toward them.

"Ivy!" Amanda called, waving at Ivy's back.

"Hello, Amanda," she said, slowing her pace slightly.

Natalie sighed slightly, matching Ivy's steps.

Amanda grinned at Ivy, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Glad I caught up to you."

Amanda glanced at Natalie, and her eyes went wide.

"I... I'm sorry, but has Natalie always...," she trailed off, glancing at Natalie's wings.

"Had wings that can stretch across the entire hallway? Heck yeah! Why do you think she wore a blanket?" Rachel cried.

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"No, it's been... it's been quite a while since I had them," she said.

Amanda's eyes suddenly widened.

"She's a faunus! That's why you... I'm so sorry," Amanda said to Natalie.

"Don't worry, you're definitely not the worst anti-faunus protester I've ever met," Natalie muttered.

Amanda's eyes darted to her wings.

"Have people been asking about it?" Oscar asked, glancing at his teammates.

"Uh... kind of," Amanda said.

Natalie snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Doesn't matter," she said, smiling at her partner.

Ivy grinned back at her, reaching over so that her hand could touch her wing.

"Let me guess: it's from a tractor? It's steel?" Natalie asked.

"No, it suits you," Ivy retracted her hand, looking ahead with a distracted look. "And so does a smile."

Natalie looked away, eyes meeting Rachel's.

Rachel grinned at her, raising her eyebrows suggestively before giving Natalie a wink.

Natalie glared at her darkly.

-

Yang threw her arm around Blake's shoulders.

"I'm telling you, it was awesome! She was so happy!" Yang said, grinning.

"I know, I heard you the first ten times you said it," Blake replied.

"Ugh, I just love kids!" Yang said.

Ruby's gaze shot to her sister while Blake paled slightly, ears twitching.

"Then do you want to stay for another year?" Weiss asked, sliding her hand into Yang's.

"I don't know," Yang replied, shrugging.

Blake glanced at Weiss and Ruby with a nervous expression.

"I... I think Ilia asked to talk to me about something earlier. I can't remember what," Blake said, detaching herself from Yang. "I'll meet you there."

She hurried down the hall, her wives watching her go with frowns.

They walked down the hallway on their own, Weiss in between the two sisters.

"You know, I heard the strangest thing today," Ruby said awkwardly.

When Yang and Weiss glanced at her, she seemed to lose her nerve, having to work up her confidence again.

"One of my students was talking to her friends, and she mentioned how, if a faunus has a child with a human...," she trailed off for a moment, Yang gesturing impatiently for her to continue, "they could have any kind of faunus, or a human even."

Weiss and Yang glanced at each other, Yang raising an eyebrow.

"Rubes, you do know that-"

Ruby flushed.

"I know how biology works, Yang!" she hissed.

It was Weiss' turn to awkwardly start speaking apparently, and she pulled her hand out of Yang's to fidget with her fingers nervously.

"Winter was... she was teaching today, and a student asked her a... a _really_ weird and specific question about a certain strand of dust."

"Angel, I love you, but get to the point," Yang said.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"I'm getting there! Just listen! She mentioned the dust, puerulus, and I decided to look it up after class to see if she was just trying to mess with Winter or if it was a real thing. It's... it's definitely real. I asked Whitley to look into it, since he's at home in Atlas, and...," Weiss trailed off, looking ahead of her with a sort of distracted light to her eyes.

"What does it _do_ , Weiss?" Yang asked, sounding slightly irritated.

"It has the ability to take a sort of... copy of two or more individuals auras and somehow mix them together to-"

"In words we can understand," Yang said.

Weiss rolled her eyes in irritation.

"It makes a baby, alright?! You happy?!"

Yang stared at her blankly.

"What, did I go too fast? Maybe that's why I was trying to explain it slower," Weiss muttered, crossing her arms.

"Wait, wait, wait," Ruby said, eyes wide. "You're saying that it can-"

"It can allow two or more people to combine a sort of... copy is a bad word, but it's the best I've got, because it doesn't _steal_ your aura, it just kind of... borrows it for the process. Anyways, it uses these auras to create a child," Weiss said, head ducking as her face turned red.

"So you're saying that... we could...," Yang trailed off, eyes wide.

"Theoretically speaking, what I'm saying is that... we wouldn't need a sperm donor like we thought," Weiss said.

Ruby squealed.

-

Natalie grimaced, hands flinching toward her ears.

"What in the name of _dust_ was that sound?!"

"It sounded like a dying rodent," Rachel muttered, curling up closer to Ivy. She was sitting on the sparring room bench weakly, clearly charging... _everything_. "I even heard it, and my ears are all...," Rachel trailed off for a moment before raising her hands in the ear and wiggling them vaguely.

"She means she's storing her hearing," Ivy said.

"Good to know," Natalie muttered.

-

"Rubes, calm down," Yang said, but she was grinning widely.

Ruby jumped up and down in enthusiasm.

"This is.... it's," she stopped, letting out another squeal of excitement.

Weiss grabbed her wife's hands and stopped Ruby from jumping.

"It's just... a possibility, of course, and we wouldn't have to do anything any time soon, of course, but...," Weiss trailed off, blushing slightly as she started to smile herself.

"But you wanna make a baby with one of us," Yang said, smirking as she wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist.

The former heiress flushed.

"I-I never said that," she argued.

"We should tell Blake!" Ruby said, her semblance starting up.

Yang grabbed her sister by the hood of her cloak while Weiss' grip on her hands tightened.

"No!" they said together.

Ruby frowned in confusion.

"But this is **good** news, right?! Why wouldn't we tell her?!"

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Rubes, out of the four of us, who's the most worried about having kids?"

"Blake."

"And who gets freaked out when you drop things on her suddenly?" Weiss asked.

"Blake..."

"Exactly! So we have to do this _subtly_ ," Yang said.

"Didn't know you could **be** subtle," Weiss muttered.

"Hey! I flirted with you subtly for **months**!"

"You did it by making the cheesiest pick up lines and then saying you were joking!" Weiss snapped.

"But they worked!"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"They certainly did _not_ work! I liked you **before** you did that."

"So you're saying that I'm charming without even having to try?" Yang asked instantly.

"That's definitely not what I'm saying."

"Kinda sounds like you just said it," Yang said, smirking.

"Well, I didn't," Weiss huffed as she spoke, "I'm _saying_ that you're lucky you're cute, because you definitely can't flirt. Now come on, we're going to be late."

Weiss grabbed the two sisters by the hands, tugging them toward their destination.

-

Blake ran a hand through her hair, letting out a quiet sigh as she paced back and forth. She, obviously, hadn't gone to see Ilia and talk. She just needed a minute to recollect her sanity.

It seemed like everyone wanted them to have kids lately, including her wives.

Blake just didn't think she was ready for that! She was twenty, almost twenty-one, and that's way too young for a kid, right?!

But, to be fair, she'd gotten married just a few weeks ago, and everyone had said they were **far** too young for that... but Blake _definitely_ wasn't sure that the four of them were mature enough to have a living, breathing creature that depended on them!

Okay, that sounded bad, but... Blake had never really thought about having kids. In fact, kids usually scared her. They were small, they had heads _way_ too big for their tiny little bodies, they chewed on _everything_ , were completely defenseless, most of them were (in her profound opinion) super ugly, and... and they were just so easy to drop! They **squirmed** like little worms, wiggling in people's arms until it seemed like they were going to fall! And if they fell, they'd probably get seriously hurt, maybe hit their heads, and then **boom**! Brain damage for the rest of their life!

Blake had dropped an apple yesterday. Oh, dust, what if that had been a _child_?! It'd probably be dead! Blake paced back and forth faster.

"Dust, I could have killed it!" she muttered under her breath.

She shook her head, running a hand through her hair again and calming her racing heart.

It's fine, it's not like her wives were seriously having kids anytime soon, right?

-

"Maybe we can have a kid after the end of this school year!" Ruby cried excitedly.

-

Of course they weren't! They hadn't even been married a year! Even Ruby wouldn't get that excited about this sort of thing, right?

-

"I'm so excited!" Ruby cheered.

-

Right! Of course not! Blake needed to stop panicking. Everything would be fine. Maybe in a few years they could seriously consider this sort of this, but for now they didn't have to.

-

"We can... seriously consider it, I suppose," Weiss said, flushing.

-

Of course they wouldn't be actually wanting to have a kid any time soon.

Blake shook her head, rolling her eyes at her silly fears. She didn't need to worry. The time would come, more than likely, where she'd have to have a serious discussion about it, but not for a while.

-

"We should talk to Blake about this soon," Yang said.

-

With that in mind, Blake hurried down the hall to meet up with her wives, her heart rate calming as she neared them.

-

"Are they coming?" Natalie asked irritably, rolling her shoulders. Astoundingly, the prosthetics had seemed to help her with the pain. Ivy said it was because she had some bone in her back that had been protruding against her skin out of place because of the missing wings. A bone that was supposed to attach to them wasn't and was instead pushing against bare skin. Now, with the prosthetics pushing back, the pain was, for the first time since her wings had been cut, getting better. Ivy said it was like a cast, and it would reset the bone in a few months, which meant that... in a few months, she would probably be free of back pain for the first time since...

Natalie couldn't even remember how that had felt anymore. The lack of pain seemed foreign now, but exhilarating.

Rachel laughed childishly.

"That's what she said," she slurred.

"What?" Natalie asked, frowning.

"You," Rachel lifted her arm and vaguely pointed in the direction of Natalie, "you asked if they was coming. That's what she said."

"Oh my dust," Oscar said, rolling his eyes.

"Who said it?" Ivy asked.

"Dust, Rachel! Does recharging give you the humor of a twelve-year-old boy?!" Natalie snapped.

Rachel just quietly, and almost drunkenly, snickered to herself.

Just then, the doors to the sparring training room burst open, and Yang strode in, followed by Ruby and Weiss.

"Who's ready to regret asking for a training session?!" Yang asked, her left hand punching the palm of her right.

"You're the one that suggested it," Oscar reminded her.

"Who's ready to regret accepting?!" Yang continued.

Natalie grinned.

"Oh, you four are going _down_. Rach, stop making dirty jokes and get up here," she called.

Rachel was still snickering at her own joke, and Ivy shook her.

"Rachel, stop storing up, we're ready to fight."

"Who're we fighting again?" Rachel asked just before she stopped storing. She stood, stumbling. "Dust, I hate storing up intelligence."

"Didn't think you had much to store," Natalie said, smirking.

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"How clever and original, Nat. You should be a comedian."

"No need, my life's already a joke, Rach," Natalie said, grinning.

"Wait, where's Blake?" Oscar asked, glancing around as he readied his staff, clutching it in both hands.

"She's freaking out, but she'll be here in a minute," Yang said.

"Freaking out? About what?" Oscar asked worriedly.

"Someone brought up kids again," Yang said, waving her hands dismissively.

"You. You brought up kids again," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"It's not important who brought it up," Yang said.

Ivy grinned, rocking back and forth.

"The universe brought up kids," she muttered.

Natalie glanced at her, eyes widening.

"Oh my dust! That's why you said it!"

"Said what?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow and narrowing her gaze.

"I've said a lot of things. For example, yesterday I told Rachel that nutmeg is highly toxic if injected intravenously," Ivy said.

"Yesterday, she told me that it was, according to physics, possible for a world to be shaped like a doughnut," Oscar said.

Natalie gaped at her teammates.

" **That's** what she told you yesterday?! Yesterday, she gave me an existential crisis by saying that some scientists believe our entire universe is inside a black hole!" Natalie cried.

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked, eyes wide.

"Don't think about it. Actually, we try not to dwell on most of the things that she tells us," Rachel said, gesturing at Ivy.

Ivy grinned, waving at the three.

Weiss watched her with a sort of wariness, as if worried that Ivy was unstable.

"Don't worry, she won't bite you," Oscar joked.

"More than twice," Rachel added.

"She only bit you guys twice?" Natalie asked, grinning.

Rachel leaned over.

"What goes on between you two behind closed doors is none of my business," she whispered.

Natalie instantly flushed, glaring at Rachel.

"I-that's not what-"

She stopped when she saw a small fire starting in front of her. She slammed her foot against it to put it out.

"Okay, what just happened?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow at the fire.

"When Natalie gets embarrassed, she accidentally starts fires," Rachel said, waving her hand indifferently.

"You don't have your semblance under control?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.

Natalie blushed, barely stopping herself from starting another small flame.

"Nat can only absorb so much heat, and when she gets embarrassed, her internal temperature rises, causing her to overflow with heat that has to escape as fire, otherwise it could cause damage. The same could happen if she absorbed too much heat in another way. Like everyone, she can't control the faults in her semblance," Ivy said distractedly, looking around.

Weiss watched her with a small frown.

"What's wrong with her?" she whispered to Oscar.

"A lot," Ivy said idly. Weiss' eyes widened, wondering how Ivy could hear her.

Ivy smirked.

"Did you know that not all animals have the ability to hear? Cuttlefish, for example, are completely lacking any kind of acoustic receptors."

Weiss blinked.

"She's saying that she didn't hear you," Natalie translated.

Weiss frowned in confusion, glancing at her wives for help.

"Just don't worry about it," Ruby whispered, running a soothing hand down her shoulder with a small, comforting smile on her face.

"Did you know that anxiety can cause stress-migraines?" Ivy asked.

"Ives, I know that you're really good at confusing the enemy, but I seriously think you're going to break our teacher, so maybe dial it back some," Natalie said, setting her hand on her partner's shoulder.

"But you said you liked it when I confused people," Ivy said, tilting her head to the side with a confused look on her face.

"I do, it's just... don't break people."

"Break them?" Ivy said.

"You're confusing enough that people who refuse to go with the flow would go crazy trying to figure you out," Natalie said.

Weiss frowned in confusion, wondering if she should be offended.

"Seriously, just let it go," Oscar told her.

Before Weiss could respond, the door opened and Blake awkwardly smiled at the two teams.

"Sorry I'm late," she said.

Ruby grinned at her.

"It's alright, Blakey!"

"Yeah, we can kick their butts now!" Yang agreed, grinning at her wife.

"Bring it on!" Rachel cried.


	28. Training Session

Rachel bounced up and down, taking deep breaths as if calming herself.

"You freaking out?" Yang asked, grinning.

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Heck no! She's getting pumped!" Natalie said, rolling her shoulders. They popped several times, and Ivy glanced at her, tilting her head to the side.

"Are your shoulders hurting?"

"Always."

"You should probably go to the doctor, baby," Rachel said.

"Are you two datin-"

Ruby was cut off by Natalie.

"Stop calling me that, you're not my mother!"

"Someone's cranky."

Natalie took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"Let's just get started, alright?" the faunus asked, stretching her wings experimentally.

"Don't think that you and your fancy new wings will give you an advantage," Yang said.

"Didn't Ms. Soleil say not to taunt your enemy?" Rachel asked, smirking.

"She was always uptight," Yang said, waving her hand dismissively.

"You're such a bad example," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"Shush!" Ruby chided. "Three, two-"

"Did you know that four is the only number that has the same number of letters as it represents?" Ivy asked.

There was a moment of silence.

"Okay, that totally threw me off, I'm starting over," Ruby said. "Three, two, one!"

Rachel's mind grew, the battlefield around her becoming sharper as her eyes blazed a dark shade of gray. Natalie flapped her wings, propelling her into the air as she watched team RWBY warily. Oscar raised his staff menacingly, holding it in both hands while correcting his stance how Ozpin had taught him. Ivy, meanwhile, stood in the middle of the battlefield, completely unarmed as she swayed back and forth.

"I'm not dealing with that one, she creeps me out," Weiss muttered, glaring at Ivy, who waved back at her distractedly.

"You're such a baby," Yang said, rolling her eyes.

Natalie pulled a pack of gum out of its holster, smirking.

"Anyone want a piece?" she asked, opening it. Vespertilia made a quiet whirring sound in her hands, and two guns appeared a moment later. She fired immediately, hitting Weiss due to sheer surprise. Yang deflected a bullet with her mechanical arm, raising an eyebrow.

"That's how you wanna play, wings?"

"That's not only racist, but, more importantly, it's not even clever," Natalie replied, pushing herself higher into the air as Ruby shot at her with Crescent Rose.

"Blakey, you wanna take her?" Ruby asked.

Blake transformed her weapon into pistol form.

"I guess I could give it a shot."

"Hey! You already stole flirting from me, leave the puns out of this!" Yang snapped, her gauntlets clicking into place as she glared at Rachel.

Rachel grinned at her, reaching a hand to her belt and pulling out a small wooden-looking stick.

"Wanna see who can pack the biggest punch?" Rachel asked.

Yang grinned at her, racing forward.

Rachel twirled the stick in her hands, pulling it apart and stretching it. It slid easily, clicking into place until it stood just a bit taller than her.

Meanwhile, Ruby darted across the room toward Oscar, a blur to his eyes. He took a deep breath before throwing up his gloved hand. In front of his friend's movements, a forcefield appeared. Ruby slammed against it at top speed, falling back with a sound of shock. Oscar let himself grin as he held his staff tightly in between his hands. Ruby stumbled back to her feet with a slightly dizzy look on her face.

"Looks like you've learned a few new moves," Ruby said, twirling her weapon between her fingers as it shifted into its scythe form. "But so have I."

"I doubt your sister would like my weapon very much," Rachel remarked, arm glowing gray as she brought her hand up with impossible speed, blocking Yang's first punch and throwing her arm to the side with a quick flick of the wrist. "It's not very original, that's for sure."

Rachel twirled her weapon, Bratus, between her fingers. It moved so fast that it soon became a blur to Yang's eyes. To Rachel, with her enhanced vision and speed, she could see it perfectly fine, twirling almost lackadaisically. Suddenly, she slammed her hand forward, striking Yang in the chest with an enhanced attack. The teacher grunted, but her hands shot forward, grabbing the quarterstaff before Rachel could pull it back.

Rachel grinned, as if she'd expected the movement. She pressed a button on the side, and the weapon shrunk down to its original size, sliding out of Yang's grasp.

"Might be kind of hard to fight me, considering I can do what you _and_ your sister can," Rachel said with a smug smirk.

Yang scoffed.

" **Please**. Nobody can we what we can."

"I'm hearing a lot of talk, but not a lot of proof."

Meanwhile, Weiss' eyes widened as Ivy waved at her again.

"Did you three seriously leave me with her?!" she cried.

Blake grunted as she dove to the side to avoid a bullet from Natalie.

"Stop complaining! She hasn't even _done_ anything!" the faunus said, shooting back at her airborne opponent. "Plus, you can reach yours!"

Weiss rolled her eyes sufferingly as she pulled her rapier in front of her, summoning a glyph. 

"A speed glyph? I'm sure you can think of something better than that," Ivy remarked idly, swaying back and forth.

Weiss hesitated.

"Yes, I'm in your head," Ivy said, waving her hand dismissively. The other girl suddenly took a step back, avoiding a bullet shot from Yang.

"Nat, she's going to try and lure you down by taunting you," Ivy called. "Not a great plan, considering that's definitely not her strong suit."

Blake glanced at Ivy, eyes wide.

"Did you know that ninety percent of battles are lost because one opponent gets in the other's head and scares them?" Ivy remarked.

Weiss shook her head, trying to dispel her unease at the young girl's words.

Meanwhile, Yang raised her fist, turning on her semblance for a brief moment as she shot a punch at Rachel. Rachel grinned, her entire body glowing a dark gray as she planted her feet with extra strength, whipping her fist forward and colliding it with Yang's metallic one.

There was a wave of power that shot through the room as the two fists connected, causing several of their teammates to glance at them.

Yang was shocked at Rachel's strength, and the student used the opportunity to jab her teacher in the stomach with Bratus.

Yang absorbed the hit with ease, grabbing onto Rachel's hand to stop her from shrinking the weapon. Rachel, on instinct, pulled the weapon back toward her. Yang held on, using the momentum to swing her fist at Rachel's face.

Rachel only had the time to strengthen her aura before the punch connected.

She went flying back several feet, slamming against the ground and crumpling limply.

Rachel's aura flickered out, and Yang's eyes widened. She hurried toward the student, cursing under her breath. She hadn't meant to hurt her! She'd just gotten carried away with the fight, having fun with her first _real_ spar in so long!

Yang skidded to a halt and knelt beside Rachel. Her chest was still, and Yang gasped, reaching down to grab Rachel by the shoulders.

"She's not breathing!" Yang cried, shaking the student.

Rachel laid limp in her arms, her weapon falling out of her hand.

"Help! I need help!" Yang cried, looking over her shoulder.

Blake, Weiss, and Ruby froze, looking at their teammate and student with worry.

"Is she okay?!" Ruby cried, starting to race over. Oscar held up another forcefield and blocked her.

"Oscar, your partner's hurt!"

Natalie shot a round at Blake, hitting her easily, while Ivy subtly drew her weapon, smirking.

"Help!" Yang called again. "Rachel's hurt!"

Suddenly, Rachel glowed a dark gray and her fist shot up as a blur to Yang's eyes. It connected with her face with strength she hadn't expected, sending her flying back.

Rachel flipped to her feet, grinning as her semblance died around her.

Yang rolled up as well, eyes wide.

"But you weren't breathing! I saw your aura break!" Yang cried.

Rachel waved her hand dismissively.

"I just held my breath, dummy! And when my semblance stops, doesn't it _kind of_ look like a broken aura?" Rachel asked.

"You held your breath for like two minutes after getting punched in the face and fighting!"

Rachel laughed.

"Yang, you really don't know how my semblance works, do you?"

Yang shot a bullet at her from her gauntlet, hoping to surprise her while they talked. Rachel spun her weapon, watching the bullet approach a half speed. She blocked it with ease.

"I just stored up a little lung capacity, and boom! I looked dead!"

Yang stared at her."

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"If you win, I'll explain it afterwards."

Yang scoffed.

"Get ready to explain."

Meanwhile, Weiss looked back at her opponent, surprised to find that Ivy was significantly closer to her, and held a pair of small guns in her hands.

"Hello!" Ivy said, waving innocently.

Weiss decided she'd had enough of this oddly creepy girl.

She created a glyph, summoning an Arma Gigas, which she sent toward Ivy.

Ivy watched it approach.

"Smart. You used a creature that I can't read," Ivy commented idly, spinning the small gun between her fingers.

The Arma Gigas swung its giant sword at her head, and Ivy jumped into the air, deftly landing on the weapon and soaring through the sky on top of it.

"But you forgot one thing."

Ivy leapt forward, landing on the summoning's head and bringing both of her small guns down, each shooting a bullet through where the skull of a real Arma Gigas would be. A bolt of electricity shot through the Arma Gigas, and the summoning disappeared.

Ivy held her right arm up as she plummeted to the ground, holding her weapon loosely in her left.

"I can still read you."

A hand grabbed onto Ivy, and Natalie held her aloft easily.

Weiss watched the pair and suddenly smirked.

"So we're doing team moves now, are we?" the former heiress asked.

"That what you always said we should learn," Natalie said.

Natalie swooped down low to the ground, gently setting Ivy down on the ground before tucking her wings around her. She fell into a barrel roll, coming up behind her partner.

"Well, if you're doing team moves now," Weiss said, her smirk suddenly turning dangerous, "then we should too."

Blake's ear twitched at the words, and she made eye contact with her wife, raising an eyebrow as if to ask "are they ready for that?"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Let's show them what we've got," Weiss said.

Natalie glanced at her partner warily.

"What's this one's deal?" Blake asked, gesturing at Ivy as she slunk, in an almost cat-like way, toward the pair.

"Mind reading, I think."

"That's what had you so spooked?" Blake asked.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"It's creepy!"

"Is it?" Blake asked.

"Yes!"

Ivy reached out toward Blake, trying to get a sense of her plan, but her mind suddenly seemed to pull back. Ivy's head tilted to the side as she looked at the cat faunus with a sense of intrigue.

"Weiss, I know how to beat her."

"How?"

"Just follow my lead."

Natalie reached out her hand, grabbing Ivy's and letting her mind be fully laid out for her partner to see. If they were going to stand any sort of chance against that pair, they'd need to use _every_ trick they had.

Ruby growled at Oscar as she slid around one of his forcefields, splitting her flowers apart to do so.

Oscar's eyes widened in shock, and he dropped back warily, watching her run around him.

"Uh, Rach?" he called.

Ruby appeared in front of him, roses flurrying around her, and swung her scythe at him.

He blocked the attack with his staff.

"What, Ozzy?" she replied. She brought her quarterstaff up to block a punch from Yang.

Yang growled at that, angered that she'd used some of her semblance-powered strength for nothing.

"You think you're good at using your semblance when you need to?" Rachel laughed, ducking as Yang punched at her again, causing her to become unbalanced. "What do you think a girl like me can do without using it sparingly? I've only got so much."

Rachel swung her quarterstaff forward and knocked Yang's feet out from under her with her extra strength.

"Coming, Ozzy boy!" she called, darting over with twice speed.

She dodged around Ruby and grabbed Oscar by the hand, tugging him away from one of Ruby's attacks.

Rachel spun to face the two sisters with a wide grin.

"Alright! Who's first?" she asked.

Ruby laughed, disappearing in a burst of rose petals. Rachel instantly glowed a dark gray color, eyes watching her teacher as she shot toward her. She knew the moment that Ruby reappeared, swinging her scythe at her student. Rachel ducked and brought her arm forward, punching Ruby in the gut with extra strength. Ruby skidded to a stop and was thrown backward.

Rachel felt her enhanced aura signaling danger coming toward her. She spun, and found Yang's fist flying toward her. She grunted as she was thrown back as well, she she dug her feet in with strengthened legs and skidded to a stop. Rachel rolled to the side as Ruby raced past her with her semblance.

"We have to wear her down, Rubes," Yang called. "She might be strong, but not for long."

Ruby nodded, using her semblance to race around the student in a circle. Rachel watched her with enhanced eyes. Suddenly, an arm shot forward and a fist connected with the back of her head.

Rachel hit the floor, groaning as she rolled to the side so that Yang's bullet missed.

Ruby shot forward, scythe slicing through the air until it landed in front of Rachel. Before it could hit her, a forcefield stopped it.

Rachel scrambled to her feet, panting as she held her quarterstaff, spinning it in a slow circle.

"How low?" Oscar whispered as his partner stepped up beside him.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine," Rachel said, stopping her heavy breathing by giving her chest a bit of extra strength.

"I need Ruby over here," Blake called, smirking to herself.

"We've kinda got a lot on our plate right now!" Yang called, holding up her mechanical arm to block a punch from Rachel, but it seemed less powerful than before.

"Then bring the plate over here!" Weiss snapped.

Ivy tried to figure out what she was thinking, but Blake's head was just as withdrawn as her personality. Weiss had been really easy to read due to her slight uneasiness at Ivy's semblance. People that were uncomfortable were always easier to read.

"Should we stop them?" Rachel asked her partner. Oscar considered, but didn't find any good coming out of that.

"No. Just get ready for her."

Natalie glanced at her partner, who nodded with an air of excitement.

Natalie sighed, shaking her head.

"Shouldn't have let you into my mind," the faunus muttered, crouching down.

"Probably," Ivy said, jumping up and wrapping her legs around her waist.

"This is a horrible idea," Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

"It was actually your idea."

"Doesn't change the fact that it's horrible," Natalie continued.

"Horror, by definition, implies shock. This isn't shocking in the slightest."

"How can you be so nice and yet so mean at the same time?" Natalie asked.

"Although both are opposites, they aren't paradoxical in nature, which means that it is quite simple for one to have both attributes."

Ruby raced over, skidding to a stop beside her wife. Blake grinned at her gently.

"Sugar, I just need you to be yourself, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay!" Ruby said excitedly. She spun to face Natalie and Ivy as they took off, Ivy clutching her friend with her legs and wrapping her arms around her shoulders, each hand holding a gun.

Ivy shot at Ruby, who spun her scythe in a quick, efficient circle to block the bullets before they could hit her or her wife.

Ivy reached out toward Ruby, whose thoughts were overwhelming. Instead of just getting a vague semblance of what her teacher was thinking, she heard _everything_.

_Wow, they're flying! Those mechanical wings are really cool looking. Is it offensive if I ask if she sleeps upside down? I should ask Blakey. Blake looks really good right now too, especially with that smirk. I wonder why she wanted me to fight these two, considering they're both in the air. Why not Yang or Weiss? They can both do ranged shots too._

Ivy pulled herself out of Ruby's mind, eyes wide.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" Blake asked, smirking triumphantly.

Ruby's thoughts still pushed out at Ivy.

_Is ketchup just a smoothie?_

Ivy pulled back further, grimacing and burying her face against her partner's back.

"What's she talking about."

"Loud... loud, it's all so loud! There's too much, it's so LOUD! The light, it's blinding!" Ivy moaned, face contorting with pain as her ears rang from noise unheard.

Natalie considered for a moment, shooting at Blake and Ruby, causing them to stay where they were.

"Just hang in there, Ives!" she called, diving down for a barrel roll as Ruby fired off a long round of bullets that followed the bat faunus wherever she went.

Blake smirked.

"Weiss, little help here!" she called.

The former heiress summoned a path of glyphs in the air, which Ruby darted over, ending up behind Natalie and Ivy.

Ivy felt her dart by, and she pushed past the pain. She reached forward as Ruby skidded to a stop in midair behind her.

Ivy sent a quick mental image to Natalie as she dropped her guns, stealing Natalie's from her hands. As Ivy's weapons fell through the air, Natalie snatched them. Ivy, eyes closed in an effort to block out the overwhelming sound and brightness, hoping that the physical effect would carry into the mental one.

Ivy slapped Natalie's two guns together, listening to them click into place together as she swung the sword at Ruby, clutching it in the middle as she had always seen Natalie do. Ruby felt surprised, Ivy could sense that much, but she disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, letting the sword slice through them as she flowed around it.

Blake tossed her weapon through the air, and it soared over Natalie's head. Ruby reappeared and caught the weapon while Blake clutched the ribbon in her hands. If Ivy hadn't been so overwhelmed, she would have known what was going on, but at the moment she was busy trying to block a bullet that flew at her partner, having been shot by Yang. The bullet was, obviously, a distraction as Ruby raced around the two students, tying them up in the ribbon.

Weiss let the glyphs disappear, and Ruby plummeted to the ground, Natalie sinking from the weight, her wings getting pressed against her sides.

Natalie let out a strangled cry of shock as they were dragged to the ground.

Meanwhile, Rachel panted, having only a bit of lung capacity still stored up. She stood in front of Oscar protectively, glancing between Yang and Weiss nervously.

"Stop trying to protect me, I can fight," Oscar snapped, stepping up beside her.

Rachel nodded, taking deep, wheezing breaths.

"Do you need to recharge?" Oscar asked.

"No time," Rachel replied, "we just need to finish it quickly if we have any chance of beating them."

Oscar nodded, tightening his grip on she staff.

Rachel took a strenuous deep breath before she glowed a dark shade of gray, shooting forward toward Weiss with incredible speed.

Weiss raised her weapon, summoning a glyph under Rachel's feet that halted her movement. Rachel let out a cry of shock as she was pitched forward, landing face first against the ground. Yang used the opportunity to shoot a few rounds at the student.

Rachel was hit by all the final two shots, blocking them with her weapon, which she spun with far less speed than before. Oscar could tell that she was running low. She hadn't know they were going to be sparring until late in the afternoon, and hadn't had nearly enough time to prepare her semblance for a battle of this magnitude.

Oscar scrambled toward his partner, holding up a forcefield as Yang tried to advance.

"How's your vision storage?" he asked.

"That's... almost full... easiest one to store," Rachel said in between pants. He knew that her body wasn't equipped to run like it did when she used her semblance, which is why she had so much trouble breathing when she didn't have the extra lung capacity to help her out. "Why?" she asked.

Oscar smirked.

"I have an idea, but you'll need to cover me."

Rachel crawled to her feet, looking at the large forcefield that surrounded them.

"Thought you said to," she took a racking breath, "stop doing that."

"Just shut up and breathe. You sound like a dying horse."

Oscar looked up, eyes going wide as he saw Natalie and Ivy held in a cage of ribbons.

"I know you're running low, but can you-"

"Yeah, yeah, just give me one second."

Rachel's breathing suddenly became worse as she gasped deeply, a hand shooting to her chest and clutching it with pain written on her face.

She stopped bending over and looked up.

"I'm ready," she said, taking a deep breath before starting to glow. "Now!"

Oscar dropped the forcefield, and Rachel dashed out with speed at even Ruby couldn't make, racing past the two sisters and slamming against Blake, tackling the faunus to the ground. The pair went tumbling, and Rachel slammed her quarterstaff against Blake's hands. The faunus let go of the ribbon, on accident of course, and the ribbon went lax around Natalie and Ivy, but the two's auras looked worse for ware after the affair.

"Ivy!" Oscar called as Natalie shot into the air.

Ivy stretched her mind out, with a grimace, toward his. He tried to broadcast what he was thinking to her, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.

She whispered into her partner's ears as she shot Natalie's guns at Ruby without looking. Ruby spun her scythe to block the bullets. Natalie warmed against Ivy's front, and she smirked.

Suddenly, Yang's jacket was on fire, and the teacher cursed, throwing herself to the ground, simultaneously rolling to put the flames out and trying to get the piece of clothing off of her. Weiss aimed a glyph at Oscar, but Ivy shot at her, breaking her concentration.

"Now!" Ivy said just as Yang had stopped the flames.

Ivy slammed Natalie's weapons back together to form a sword as Natalie flattened out near the ceiling. Ivy raised the sword up high, listening to the sound of electrical shortouts as the sword sliced through the lights. Natalie and Ivy made quick work of all the lights, coating the room in complete darkness.

Blake blinked in surprise, wondering why the team would have done that. It made no sense! Only one of their members was a faunus, so only one would be able to see, just like on team RWBY!

Except... you didn't _have_ to be a faunus to see in the dark, which Rachel demonstrated as her eyes blazed a dark shade of gray, swinging her weapon at Blake again. The faunus growled, shoving the student off of her before flipping to her feet and watching warily.

Ivy's eyes were closed again as she felt the room around her, shooting a bullet at Yang.

"Yang!" Blake cried. Her wife instantly dove to the side, despite not being able to see anything in the room.

Blake realized, with a shock, that team ORIN was the exact opposite of her own team. While team RWBY had only one member that could see in the dark... team ORIN had only one that _couldn't._

It was genius! One of the only upperhands that the younger team could possibly have on the older one, considering their inexperience!

Team RWBY had been going pretty easy on them, though they had been stepping it up to avoid being beaten, and now Blake realized that had been a mistake.

Rachel twirled her weapon through the air, connecting it with Weiss' side and causing the former heiress to gasp in shock.

Blake cursed under her breath, shooting at Rachel and causing her to halt in her attack against Blake's wife to deflect the attack.

Blake's mind reeled as she attempted to call out instructions to her wives to avoid Natalie and Ivy's constant attacks while dealing with Rachel, who seemed determined to use the entirety of her stored up power against Blake right now. This caused Blake to have to use her semblance to avoid the constant attacks, and she knew that she was going to reach her limit soon considering how fast her student was moving.

Blake used another decoy of herself, setting it to explode as Rachel attacked it. It didn't seem like Rachel even slowed at the action, continuing her insanely strong and quick attacks, two out of three hitting Blake and doing real damage with each one.

Her eyes suddenly widened with an idea.

"Yang! Turn ninety degrees to your right, turn on your semblance, and run full speed!"

Yang instantly did as told.

"Stop her!" Oscar called blindly, squinting an attempt to see.

Rachel instantly shot toward her teacher with five times speed, raising her weapon.

"YANG! Punch right!" Blake shouted.

Yang did as told, her fist colliding with her student's stomach, the weapon flying over her head.

Rachel let out a loud grunt, flying back. She took a shuddering breath, gasping deeply for breath and panting. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to scramble to her feet.

Blake shot at her, and Rachel let out a scream as her aura finally broke. She panted heavily, clutching her chest with both hands.

"Yang, keep going!" she called.

Natalie swooped down toward Yang while Blake shot at her and Ivy. Ivy, still with her eyes closed, swung her partner's sword purposefully and stopped the bullets.

Natalie shot at Yang angrily, but Yang was able to keep running despite the attacks.

"Yang, now!" Blake shouted, shooting at Natalie and Ivy.

Yang planted her feet and swung her fist forward blindly, powered through her semblance.

Yang's fist connected with a wall, breaking through it and letting light finally flood into the room.

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang suddenly spun to face the three remaining members of team ORIN.

"Rach, you alright?" Natalie called as she shot at Weiss.

Weiss shot a glyph up to block the attacks.

"She said don't worry about her!" Ivy said. Natalie dropped down toward the ground.

Oscar spun his staff and slammed it against Ruby before the other team leader was able to use her semblance to run away.

Natalie used that chance to shoot at Ruby.

Ivy let out a sigh of frustration.

"I didn't want to have to do this," she muttered.

Natalie raised an eyebrow, doing a nose dive to avoid Blake throwing her weapon at the pair.

"Nat, give me back my weapons."

Natalie tossed both guns up and Ivy snatched both out of the air, dropping the double edged-sword down so that Natalie could get it.

"What did you not want to do?" Natalie asked.

"Just let me do my thing."

Ivy let her eyes fall shut and she pushed her mind out. She didn't like to do this, considering it always seemed cheap and stuff, but they were losing badly, and she wanted to at least take down at least one member of team RWBY.

"Nat, barrel rolls, please."

"Hold on tight!" she called, flapping her wings hard before holding them around herself and twirling in a tight circle.

Ivy had never really practiced with weapons much, considering she could figure out pretty much any weapon just by touching someone, but that didn't matter at the moment, considering she didn't have time for changing her weapon. The pair flew over Weiss, and Ivy shot her in the chest with one gun before reaching out to grab Weiss around the wrist.

"Up!"

Natalie's wings unfurled from around her and she shot into the air.

Ivy held Weiss tightly in her grip. Her eyes fell shut and she shot through Weiss' head. She shot an image of the girl's father through her mind, playing a familiar audio clip in Weiss' mind of her father reprimanding her. Weiss' panic grew and she fell into her own mind.

Natalie reached the top of the ceiling, and Ivy let Weiss go, dropping her toward the ground. Ivy shot at her as she fell, and Weiss gasped as she reappeared in the present, eyes going wide as her aura quickly deteriorated.

Natalie quickly joined Ivy in her attack, both shooting at the falling former heiress.

Ruby gasped in shock, racing to her sister.

"Yang!"

Her sister grabbed Ruby around the waist and Ruby ran full speed in a circle as Yang held on tight, spinning with her.

"Now!" Ruby cried. Yang let go and Ruby flew through the air, pushing herself off the ground as Yang threw her at Weiss.

Yang raced forward, calling out for Blake.

Ruby grabbed Weiss around the waist and cradled her wife from the gun shots while Blake and Yang shot at Natalie and Ivy. Oscar tried to stop them by tackling Blake, but the faunus was able to avoid the attack by kicking him in the gut distractedly.

Weiss and Ruby flew back down toward the ground.

"Kit-Kat!" Yang called. Blake wrapped her ribbon around her hand quickly before throwing her weapon at her wife.

Yang caught it, and the pair raced forward.

Weiss activated her semblance, and the pair raced up a trail of glyphs toward their teammates.

Yang tossed Blake's weapon at her again, wrapping the ribbon around Ruby and Weiss. Blake threw it back, and Yang punched the weapon as it passed by her, wrapping it around Weiss and Ruby several times and halting them in midair.

Weiss took deep breaths and looked slightly dazed, and Yang hopped off her glyph, shooting her gauntlet bullets at flying students.

Blake let go of her end of the ribbon, and Yang held out her arms to catch the pair.

Blake stayed in the air as Weiss kept her glyph in the air, Weiss looking slightly overwhelmed as her aura lowered toward dangerous levels.

Blake shot at Natalie and Ivy, the latter struggling to block the attacks. She had changed her guns into a shield, using the easily malleable parts to change it's shape almost instantly.

But Ivy was getting tired, her mind still overwhelmed from Ruby's constant, and _loud_ , thoughts.

Natalie suddenly grabbed Ivy's ankle with one hand, connecting bare skin to transfer her thoughts.

Ivy smirked.

"It's risky."

"It's _fun_."

"What about Oscar?"

"Pfft! He saved the world, he could do _anything_!"

"You don't believe that"

"I thought that was implied."

Ivy considered before laughing.

In a loud voice, she spoke, making sure that her voice carried around the room.

"And behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him!"

_Did you just call me a horse?_

Ivy shushed her, and Natalie let her eyes fall shut as she concentrated. A moment later, fire _burst_ to life around her, Natalie using all of her built up heat to create it. She flew forward, fire licking at her and Ivy's heels as the pair slammed against an unsuspecting Blake, who let out a cry of shock as fire engulfed the three of them.

"Blake!" Ruby cried, racing over as the three fell.

Blake's aura fell and broke as the three hit the ground.

Ivy and Natalie's auras broke the moment they slammed against their teacher.

Ivy was surprised to find her semblance die out. She couldn't remember the last time that she hadn't been able to sense everyone else.

Ruby rushed around the three at top speed, the wind she created putting out the flames.

"Blakey, are you okay?!"

Blake chuckled, grimacing as she pushed Natalie and Ivy off of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, coughing. "Go take out Oscar."

"Don't worry, we'll go beat up that little kid for you," Yang said.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

Yang punched her left palm into the palm of her right.

"Love you, Kit-Kat!" she called, racing off toward Oscar.

Ruby and Weiss followed after her hastily.

Oscar looked at the three, holding his staff up in front of him.

"Guys, do I have to get my butt kicked or can I just pretend?" he asked.

Rachel waved her hand indifferently, panting.

Natalie and Ivy didn't respond, so he glanced at the two. He instantly knew that Natalie wouldn't speak, and Ivy's eyes were even more dazed an confused than normal, so he decided just to hold up his hands.

"I'm out too," he said.

Ruby instantly raced over to her wife, skidding to a stop at her side and trying to pick her up bridal style.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Rubes, you'd just drop her with those weak noodle arms of yours. C'mere, Kit-Kat."

Yang dramatically swooped her wife into the air, holding her gently.

"Good spar, guys! But if you _ever_ put a hand on my wife again, I won't hold back," Yang said dangerously, eyes turning red.

Rachel held up a thumbs up, still gasping for breath. Oscar helped her up to her feet while team RWBY walked out of the training room.

Rachel leaned against him.

"My chest hurts," she wheezed.

"I know," Oscar replied, rolling his eyes as he helped her walk.

Ivy's eyelids were drooping, her head heavy as she let it rest against-

Natalie's face was a **deep** red as Ivy pulled slightly closer to partner, head resting against her neck as she breathed gently.

"Ives, uh, you... you gotta get up," Natalie said gently, flushing deeper.

Ivy let out a dazed laugh.

"I can't feel anything! It's all empty! I don't even know how you're feeling! I can't tell where anyone is!" she giggled drunkenly and yawned.

Natalie gently pushed her partner up, Ivy just giggling.

"The air's cold!" she said, eyes falling shut.

Natalie tried to get her to stand, but Ivy shook her head.

"Your wings are cute..."

Natalie flushed an even darker shade of red. She was glad that her aura was drained so that she wasn't burning the entire school down.

"I, uh... really-I MEAN... focus, Ives! We need to get back to... to the dorms!"

Rachel watched the pair with a tired smile.

"Come on, love bat!" Rachel called.

Natalie glared at her as she helped Ivy back to her feet. Ivy just slipped back toward the ground, and Natalie caught her.

"I liked it when we were flying," Ivy said idly.

Natalie's face felt like it was actually on fire.

"Can you guys help me with her?" she called in a slightly whiny voice.

"You can sweep her off her feet all on her own. Probably," Rachel said, finally catching her breath.

Natalie glared at her as she helped Ivy walk down the hall.

Ivy stopped suddenly, growing serious.

Natalie's eyes widened as Ivy grew closer, putting both of her hands around her partner's neck and leaning up.

Natalie's eyes fluttered shut.

Ivy reached her hand away, trailing it against Natalie's face, making her breath hitch.

Natalie leaned down slowly.

"Boop!" Ivy said, giggling as she pushed her finger drunkenly against her partner's nose.

Natalie's eyes opened as Ivy pulled away.

Ivy giggled and smiled up at her.

She took a slow step forward, Natalie watching her with the same sort of dazed expression that Ivy usually had.

Rachel patted Natalie on the shoulder as she passed.

"You'll get her one day, Champ."

-

"Maybe if you're feeling better later, we can make it up to you for letting you get hurt," Yang said, smirking down at her wife.

Blake grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this one! Hope it's alright I got carried away!


	29. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long! I've actually been writing a different story all day, and it'll be up soon, so keep an eye out for it!

"So, I saw you two back there," Rachel said, gently elbowing her teammate as they walked toward their dorm room after the practice session against team RWBY.

Natalie looked away.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The school's lucky that you don't have your aura, or else it would have been burnt down," Rachel said, grinning.

Natalie glared at her.

"So, when are you gonna make your move?" Rachel asked.

"What move?"

"So you're gonna make me say it? Fine, I don't have any problem with that. When are you going to tell Ivy that you're head over heels for her?"

Natalie flushed, stumbling over her words as she attempted, and failed, to respond.

"Oh, and also that you hate Amanda because you're worried she's going to ask Ivy out before you get the nerve to," Rachel continued.

"I-"

"And don't forget that you've been flirting with her for the last week."

"Well-"

"And that you thought she was going to kiss you in there."

"Okay, that's enough!" Natalie hissed.

Rachel grinned.

"Aw, it's alright, you came to the right person for advice."

"You came to me!" Natalie growled.

Rachel waved her hand dismissively.

"Doesn't matter. Point is, you gotta make a move soon."

"What? Why?" Natalie asked uncomfortably.

"Oscar, mind spelling it out for the poor love struck idiot?"

Natalie glared at her while Oscar rolled his eyes.

"She can read minds, Nat. It's only so long before she figures out how you feel. Do you want her randomly stumbling upon it one day or do you want to tell her?" Oscar asked.

Natalie hesitated.

"I don't know," she muttered, kicking the ground with one foot as she walked down the hallway.

"Nat, you don't want her to figure it out," Rachel said. "That'd be super embarrassing."

Natalie shrugged, glancing up at where Ivy was walking down the hallway. She was laughing to herself a few meters away, way too far away from them to hear their conversation without her semblance working.

"I don't know, she's nice and all...," Natalie said, trailing off with a small blush and a shrug.

"Yes, yes, she's like a saint, but she's _also_ , like, the most awkward person I've ever met," Rachel said.

"Yeah, remember when Amanda came over last night to 'hang out' and it took Ivy ten minutes to tell her that we were trying to go to sleep?" Oscar asked.

"Or when someone was sitting in her seat in history class and she couldn't figure out how to ask them to move so she just shoved them out of the seat?" Rachel asked. Natalie smiled fondly at that memory, making Rachel roll her eyes. "Okay, you really are in deep," she muttered.

"Don't forget Thursday when she heard someone laughing and briefly forgot what laughter was?" Oscar asked.

"She tried to give them the Heimlich," Rachel added sagely.

"Yeah, but that was all-"

Natalie stopped abruptly, blushing.

"Cute? Yeah, yeah, we get it, you're totally in love with her," Rachel replied, rolling her eyes at the other girl.

Natalie glared at her.

"I'm not _in love_ with her," she hissed quietly.

"You'll get there," Rachel replied dismissively.

Natalie rolled her eyes. Before she could speak, though, Oscar cut in.

"That's not the point. The point is that it'll be better to tell her your feelings before she figures them out, because at least you'll know what's going on when it happens."

"Yeah! At least you'll know _why_ she's trying to randomly do the Heimlich maneuver," Rachel added.

"That was one time," Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

"It doesn't matter that it only happened one time! It still **happened**!" Rachel cried.

"What happened?" Ivy asked, glancing back at them.

"Nothing!" Natalie replied, her voice raising several octaves, making Rachel snicker.

"It's so weird not sensing everything... is this really how everyone feels all of the time?" she asked.

"For the last time, _yes_! We can't all feel other people's thoughts!" Natalie said, rolling her eyes.

"Weird," Ivy said, looking around with a sort of wonder.

Natalie watched her, and Rachel elbowed her.

"Tell her," she mouthed.

-

Ruby sat down on the bed beside Blake as Yang put her down.

"You know I could have walked, right?" Blake asked.

Yang shushed her while Ruby gently pushed her to lie down.

"Just relax," the team leader said, reaching her hand up to pet her wife's ears.

Blake yawned, shaking her head.

"You're so lucky we're married, because otherwise you'd be _so_ racist," she muttered.

"Oh, shush," Weiss said, joining Ruby.

Blake smirked.

"Did a Schnee just tell a faunus not to speak?"

"No, a Belladonna-Schnee just told her wife to be quiet because she's annoying and she loves her," Weiss corrected.

Blake smiled up at her, about to speak, but Yang cut her off.

Yang threw herself onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Blake and pulling her closer. Ruby let out a quiet "hey!" of frustration.

"Aw, don't worry, Kit-Kat, we've got you," Yang said, smirking.

Blake rolled her eyes, but let herself lapse into purrs as Ruby and Weiss continued stroking the top of her head.

She could get used to this.

-

Neo stuck her head into team JNIPRS' dorm room.

_'Hey, Nora, I need to borrow your boyfriend.'_

"Which one?"

_'The blond one.'_

"Have fun, honey," Nora said, shoving Jaune toward the doorway.

"Hey!" he cried as he stumbled forward.

_'Thanks!'_

Neo said as shse grabbed Jaune by the collar of his shirt and pulled him outside, closing the door behind her.

She turned to face Ciel and a confused, but excited, Penny.

_'Let's do this.'_

"Do what?!" Jaune cried.

Neo locked eyes with Ciel, sending her an excited grin.

_'The best thing I'll ever do in my life.'_


	30. Two Emergencies

Neo laughed silently as she tugged Ciel down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" Penny asked.

"Why did you kidnap me?!" Jaune cried.

Neo rolled her eyes.

_'You're coming, aren't you?'_

"Because you kidnapped me!" Jaune cried.

Neo raised an eyebrow.

 _'You're coming with of your own volition, aren't you?'_ Neo asked. Jaune hesitated before realizing the former criminal was right.

Ciel glanced at Neo, smiling at the other girl gently as she wrapped her arm around her waist.

"We're going to," Ciel glanced down at a piece of paper, which she had scrawled an address on, and then hesitated, glancing at Neo.

Neo winked at her, and Ciel quietly laughed, shaking her head.

"We're going to the airship."

"But _why_?" Jaune asked.

"Because we _can_ ," Ciel replied, making Neo laugh.

Jaune and Penny frowned in confusion, but the couple didn't seem to care, lost in their own little world.

-

Natalie glanced at Ivy, who was asleep on her bed, aura slowly recharging.

She sighed, slumping down on her bed and putting her head in her hands.

"Tell her!" Rachel hissed, making Natalie glare at her.

"It's not that simple!" she responded quietly.

"What? Why not?" Rachel asked.

"What if this ruins our friendship? What if it makes her **more** awkward? What if she's not even _into_ girls? What if it's just me _specifically_ that she's not into? What if I screw it up and-"

Oscar rolled his eyes, tossing a pillow at Natalie's face.

"Dust, Nat! Just go talk to some wise old lesbians already, they've all been through this before," he said, waving his hand dismissively.

"And, what? You think this school just _has_ a large supply of wise older lesbians that-"

Oscar stared at Natalie, eyebrow raised.

Natalie hesitated.

"Okay, just because this school has a surprisingly large selection of lesbian teachers... who are in relationships... that were friends before... and teammates... and went to this school..."

"Just admit I was right and go talk to someone," Oscar said. "And do it quick, I need the room quiet for when I call Whitley."

Natalie hesitated, and Oscar pointed looked at her. She sighed, pushing herself to her feet and mumbling under her breath.

"What was that?" he called.

"I said shut up! I'm going!"

Oscar smirked as she closed the door behind her, Rachel bursting out laughing.

-

Neo dashed into the airship and started it up immediately, sliding into the pilot's seat and glancing to the side at Ciel.

She raised her hands to sign, but Ciel smirked at her.

"I know, I know," Ciel said, pushing Neo's legs to make room for her to sit in front of the former criminal.

"Okay, seriously, where are we going?!" Jaune cried.

"On an adventure?!" Penny asked excitedly.

"It'll definitely be an adventure," Ciel said, leaning her head back and letting it land on Neo's shoulder gently.

Neo grinned down at her, snaking one hand over to wrap around the other girl's waist, tugging her closer.

"What does that even mean?!" Jaune cried.

"Everything. It means everything," Ciel said gently, smiling lovingly back at Neo. She reached one hand back, letting it rest against Neo's cheek gently. The former criminal pressed her face gently against the palm of her hand as she lifted the airship into the air.

"How long?" Ciel asked.

_'Forever, Gorgeous.'_

"I meant until we get there."

_'Someone's a little antsy.'_

"Can you blame me?"

_'Definitely not. We'll be there in twenty minutes. Fifteen if you're alright with a bumpy ride.'_

"Beautiful, from the moment I met you it's been a bumpy ride."

_'Is bumpy a bad thing?'_

"It's a great thing, Beautiful."

_'So I'm beautiful now, Gorgeous?'_

"Always have been."

Neo gave her a loving smile, eyes flickering from the airship controls and making Jaune's eyes buldge.

"Uh, Neo! Can you please pay attention?!" he cried.

Neo smirked.

_'I am.'_

"I mean to the airship!" Jaune shouted.

 _'She's so much more important,'_ Neo signed, making Ciel roll her eyes fondly.

"Don't crash, Beautiful. I kind of need us both alive for this whole thing to work out."

_'A shame, really.'_

Ciel laughed, shaking her head before letting it fall against Neo's chest, watching the former criminal as she flew, a loving look on her face.

Neo barely watched the skies, ducking her head down so that it was closer to Ciel's own.

_'We don't have any rings, Gorgeous.'_

"We don't have any dresses either."

_'Is that a problem?'_

"Definitely not."

_'You sure you don't want to stop and-'_

Ciel took Neo's face in both of her hands, making Jaune gasp in fear as Neo brought her gaze down to meet Ciel's.

"Neo, before I met you, I was always so organized. Everything had to go just right, there was structure and stability, plans were made and upheld religiously..."

Neo raised an eyebrow, wondering if Ciel was about to complain.

"And do you want to know what I learned the moment I met you, Beautiful?"

_'What's that, Gorgeous?'_

"It was boring. So, so boring. And when you came crashing into my life, I realized that with you and your chaos... I was happier than I'd ever been in my uptight little life."

Neo beamed down at her.

"So I'm sure I don't want to stop. I want to just get there, and finally saw the words I'd never thought I'd say until the day I met you."

_'And what's that?'_

"I love you, Neopolitan."

 _'You've already said that before, Gorgeous,'_ Neo signed with a smirk.

Ciel crept closer, drawing toward her lips.

"Then how about 'I do?'" she whispered.

_'That'll cut it.'_

Ciel chuckled, closing the distance between them and kissing the other girl.

"For Dust's sake, watch the sky!" Jaune cried.

Neo held up her hand.

_'Can't you see we're having a moment?!'_

"A moment in which we almost all died five times!"

_'She's worth the risk.'_

Ciel rolled her eyes, drawing away.

"For once in your life, Beautiful, play it safe."

_'How is what we're doing playing it safe?'_

"Because," Ciel said, setting her hand on top of Neo's on the controls, "any decision that brings me closer to you if the right one to make."

"You two are disgusting," Jaune said. "I'm going back there. Don't crash."

"I think they're cute!" Penny cried.

Neo grinned down at Ciel, who let her eyes fall shut, breathing gently as she pulled herself closer to her girlfriend and wife-to-be.

 _It's been precisely five minutes,_ she thought, _can I wait ten more? Of course I should be able too. I didn't even know we were going to be getting married today until a few hours ago... and yet the time seems far too great._

-

Natalie took a deep breath before knocking on the dorm room door.

"Who is it?" a frustrated voice called back.

"Natalie."

"What do you need?" Weiss growled.

"Advice?" Natalie asked.

There was some muttering behind the door.

"Come in!" Ruby called.

"I still think we let her starve for what she did to Blake," Yang said.

"This has nothing to do with food, how would she starve?" Blake asked. "Plus, my aura's already almost full again."

Natalie wondered how that was possible, considering hers was still _incredibly_ low.

Natalie pushed the door open, giving them each a small, awkward smile.

"What do you need advice over?" Ruby asked, smiling up at the student from her place on the bed. Blake sat up, shoving Ruby's hands off her head, where they'd been playing with her ears. Natalie raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't mention it.

Natalie rubbed a hand against the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Girls?"

"What about them?" Yang asked, smirking.

"Uh... Oscar said that I should talk to you four about..."

"Is it Rachel?" Ruby asked excitedly.

Natalie shook her head.

Weiss grimaced.

"Oh, no! Definitely not! I'm not helping you with Ivy, that girl creeps me out," the former heiress said.

"She's not creepy!" Natalie snapped.

"She's a little creepy," Yang conceded. "But that's alright. Weiss is also pretty creepy."

"What?!" Weiss cried shrilly.

"Okay, I'm just going to leave-"

"No, we'll be serious!" Ruby called. "And we'll _stop_ calling the girl you like creepy."

Ruby gave her wife a pointed look, and Weiss sighed with a small nod.

"What exactly do you want to know?" Ruby asked kindly.

"Um...," Natalie flushed slightly, and Blake instantly looked around for any fires that might have started.

"Oh, she wants flirting advice from the master," Yang said, cracking her knuckles with a large smirk on her face.

"Alright. Blake, give her flirting advice," Weiss said, waving her hand dismissively.

Yang rolled her eyes in frustration.

"I can flirt too!"

"Nat, you need to decide now," Weiss said. "Do you want to flirt with kind, sincere, and _amazing_ comments... or do you want to use puns and horrible pick up lines?"

"Is this a trick question?" Natalie asked. "Because only one of those things sounds like flirting, and it's definitely the first one."

"That's it! I'm out!" Yang cried, throwing up her arms and falling against the bed with a loud sigh.

"Yeah, you're going to want Blake," Weiss said.

Natalie's eyes landed on the faunus teacher, gaze suddenly turning pleading.

Blake let out a sigh, pushing herself to her feet.

"Tell me about her."

-

Neo set down the airship, grabbing both of Ciel's hands in her own immediately afterward.

Ciel looked up at her as they stood, raising an eyebrow.

Neo squeezed her hands tightly three times in a row before starting to pull her off of the airship.

"I love you too," Ciel whispered as Jaune and Penny raced after them.

A few months ago, they'd decided that when Neo couldn't use sign language, they needed specific codes for different common phrases. The one used the most was three taps on the hand. _I love you_. Simple as that.

"What's going on? Why are we here?" Jaune asked.

Ciel and Neo shared a secretive smile.

"Just needed some witnesses," Ciel said.

_'They're a bit more than that, Gorgeous.'_

It seemed like Jaune had finally had enough, and he threw himself in front of Neo and Ciel before they could enter the mysterious building.

"What's going on?!" he demanded.

The pair looked at each other before Ciel spoke, turning to face her partner.

"Penny, will you be my maid of honor?"

"I would be _delighted_ , Friend Ciel!"

 _'You're going to be my best man, right? I mean, you did save Ciel's life. You're, like, the closest thing I've got to a best friend, other than Winter, and she seemed **way** too stressed out at the last wedding. Not to mention she hates spontaneity,' _Neo signed to Jaune, whose eyes widened in shock.

"When's the wedding?" Jaune was able to stutter out.

"The wedding's right now," Ciel replied.

"What?!" Jaune and Penny cried together.

_'Why do you think we're at the court house?'_

"So... right now right now?!" Jaune cried.

Neo nodded with a grin.

"But... rings, friends, dresses-"

Ciel cut off Jaune.

"It doesn't matter," she grabbed Neo's hand, "we've got everything we need."

Just as they were about to enter the court house, Neo pulled her hand out of Ciel's own.

_'Can I have just a minute, Gorgeous?'_

Ciel smiled up at her gently.

"Should I be nervous that the criminal is going to leave the goody-two-shoes standing at the alter with some sort of scam, Beautiful?" Ciel asked, grabbing the other girl by the collar of her shirt.

_'And run out on you, Gorgeous? Never.'_

Ciel leaned up and connected their lips chastely before pulling away.

"You better not," she said, grabbing Penny by the wrist and pulling her into the court house.

"So. Are you running out on her?" Jaune asked as soon as the other two girls were gone, leaning against the wall with a smirk. Neo scoffed, silently, and shook her head.

_'Of course not. You know how much I love that woman.'_

"Then why are you out here talking to me instead of in there marrying the woman of your dreams?" Jaune asked.

Neo took a deep breath.

 _'I just... look, Jaune, I picked you because of everything you've done for me,'_ Neo signed quickly, _'and I wanted to let you know how much it meant to me, and... this would have never been possible if you hadn't been there to save her. There's nothing I could ever do to repay you, so I wanted to show you how much it meant to me today.'_

Jaune was fighting against tears as he looked down at Neo, eyes wide.

"I... Neo," he set his hand on her shoudler, "thank you. I'm honored to be here with you two today."

Neo grinned at him before snagging him by the wrist and dragging him into the court house.

-

"Oh, uh," Natalie paused to consider, "she's **really** smart, but also... well, she's not _stupid_ , but she's... **really** bad with people, which makes no sense considering she can-"

"Read minds or whatever, we get it," Yang said, waving her hand dismissively.

"And she likes to tell people random facts a lot. Most of them are science-based, but sometimes they're just... _weird_."

"I was teaching a class last week and she just started quoting the dictionary," Ruby said. "She got all the way to balloon before Rachel almost knocked her out."

"Oh, yeah! I remember that!" Natalie said, a small, fond smile growing across her face.

"Did she have... a _reason_ to do that?" Weiss asked, looking slightly uneasy.

"Oh, Ivy _always_ has a reason for what she does," Natalie assured her. "Her reasons are just... not always what we would call... regular reasons. I've kind of divided everything she says into three different categories; random/incomprehensible, metaphorical but relevant, and finally the sane ones that actually make sense to everyone."

Weiss blinked at her.

"It... kind of sounds like she has her own language."

"She does! At least, it feels like learning another one. To Ivy...," Natalie took a moment to collect her thoughts, "to Ivy, everything is relevant, I guess. She just sees a bigger picture. Like, if I looked out that window and told you that I could see a pond, but you couldn't _see_ the window, it would seem illogical, especially if you didn't know that the window was there! But Ivy... she sees it _all_. She doesn't just see the window, she sees the pond, the room, you, what you see, and somehow another room entirely!"

Weiss seemed unnerved at the words, glancing at her wives.

"That seems... complicated," Blake finally conceded.

"That's exactly my problem! What if I can't ever understand what she's thinking? What if I'm just too...," Natalie ran a hand over her face as she sighed, "small minded? I focus on what's right in front of me, but she sees the big picture. It's like... how do I fit into the picture if I can't see it all?"

Blake took a moment to think before she took a seat on a chair, gesturing for Natalie to do the same.

"Natalie, I'm going to tell you something very important, and you need to listen good."

The bat faunus nodded apprehensively.

"You don't need to see someone else's picture to fit into it. You're already a _part_ of her picture by being her friend, and she's a part of yours. You don't have to be able to think like her, to see like her, to be important to her, romantically or platonically. Dust, I don't know _what's_ going on in Yang's mind most the time, but I love her anyways."

Yang gave the two faunus finger guns from the bed.

"A relationship isn't about being similar to someone else... do you know why opposites attract?"

Natalie shook her head.

"Because a person opposite of yourself has different strengths and weaknesses that can compliment your own. It's why Weiss and Ruby are able to put up with each other despite being almost different species."

Ruby shrugged while Weiss let out a quiet "hey!"

"So don't let that stop you from going after this girl."

Natalie gave Blake a big smile, shifting slightly.

"Thank you," she whispered, face flushing.

"Hey, let's get this over quick, I don't want the room burning down when she recharges her aura, alright?" Weiss called. Blake waved her hand dismissively.

"Alright, fine. I guess I can show you some of my flirting that Weiss and Ruby won't shut up about. But it's really nothing special! It's all about making her feel special and loved, but _without_ making it all about appearance."

"So don't tell her she looks pretty?" Natalie asked in confusion.

Blake let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"Of course you can tell her she's pretty, but that's too expected, not to mention direct. There's two ways to flirt. The first, which is what we should focus on, is the offhand comment about something you like about them, or something they don't like about _themselves_. Don't make it seem important, like it's no big deal because of **course** you like that about them. They're silly to think you wouldn't like _anything_ about them."

Natalie seemed lost, so Blake gestured for Weiss to sit beside her.

Blake grabbed a book from the table and opened it, starting to read.

"Weiss, you look especially pretty today."

Weiss opened her mouth to respond, but Blake glanced at her for a moment before going back to her book.

"My mistake, you always look like that. I guess I just thought I'd imagined someone as beautiful as yourself."

Weiss instantly blushed, and Blake didn't look at her wife, instead turning to Natalie.

"See? It's like you don't even _know_ how much the compliment means to her, like you're just saying something off the top of your head. The trick is, don't make it a big deal."

Natalie glanced at Weiss, finding that she was still staring at Blake's back with a love struck expression.

"But... I could never say something like... _that_ to Ivy!" Natalie said, flushing.

"Too bold? Let's try again."

Blake went back to her reading and Weiss mentally prepared herself for a compliment.

"Oh, Weiss, I wanted to tell you earlier, your summonings have gotten really good. I know how much you've been working on those, and it's really paying off."

Weiss seemed to forget that they were doing flirting practice, and she genuinely smiled.

"Tha-"

"I shouldn't be surprised, though. You _are_ a genius."

Weiss flushed and moved a bit of hair behind her ear with a grin before the smile fell slightly, eyes going wide, as if suddenly remembering that Blake was teaching Natalie.

"Dust, Blake! You have it down to a science!" Yang cried.

"But... Ivy wouldn't really... get any of that!" Natalie said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Then do it in a way she'll understand! When I want to make Ruby happy, and show her how much I love her, I give her some candy. But not just at any time. I give it to her when I **know** she'll want it. For every person, you have to change how you flirt. Usually with Weiss, the best approach is to suddenly complement her like I showed you earlier. Ruby likes it when I'm sweeter, both literally with cookies and figuratively with kind words. And Yang... dust, you can't even flirt with Yang."

Yang rolled her eyes.

Blake leaned in closer to Weiss and Natalie.

"I'm lying, she's the easiest to flirt with. You just have to be direct, tell her she's pretty, and she's happy. She doesn't like any of the subtle stuff, because she doesn't like to be reminded she can't flirt. But that's not the matter at hand. What's important right now is... how do we find the **perfect** way for you to flirt with Ivy?"

-

Neo caught up to Ciel, slipping her hand into the other girl's and threading their fingers together.

"Is this the other bride?" a disinterested voice asked, flipping through some papers.

"Yes."

"First name?"

"Neopolitan."

"Last name?"

Ciel glanced at Neo, who gave her a small smirk and a shrug.

"Uh, no last name."

The worker looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"Legally. No last name," Ciel continued.

The worker shrugged, writing down "N/A" under the question.

Neo grinned at Ciel, taking a deep breath.

"You two want to say a few words?" the worker asked.

"Please," Ciel said, grabbing Neo by the shoulders.

"Like I said earlier... my life was boring and bland before I met you. _I_ was boring, and you brought adventure into my life, changed me for the better... but that's not why I love you. I know I don't say it was much as I should, but... Neo, you're... dust, I can't even describe you. You're smart and funny and, despite your past, you've blossomed into a wonderful person. When we met... I told myself that I shouldn't fall for your tricks, the charm that you always seem so proud of... but I did, even though I knew it was a dangerous decision. And I think the reason I did it was because I wanted it to be true. I wanted everything I saw in your eyes to be real. The commitment, the mischief, the kindness, the protectiveness... everything you'd hidden beneath the surface. You were my first risk, Neo, and that's why I'm here at the court house at night getting married way younger than anyone in their right mind would recommend."

Ciel reached her hand up to cradle Neo's face.

"I'm here, taking this risk that everyone would say is insane... because my first risk gave me **you** , and... no matter what happens, this will always be worth it. **You** will always be worth it."

Neo let tears roll down her cheeks as she began to sign.

 _'Ciel, when I met you... when I met you, I was the worst version of myself. I was a crooked criminal escaped from jail. I should have run, I should have left Atlas and never come back, lived underground for the rest of my life, like I was planning. But then I saw **you** , and there was just... there was always just something about you that pulled me in, made me want you know more about you. And once I'd gotten to know you... I wanted to become a better version of myself, because love makes you want to be a better person for the people you love. The first time I came to your balcony, I was a goner. I would have followed you anywhere, I **did** follow you **everywhere**. And...,'_ Neo took a shaky breath, tears forming in her eyes. _'And when I thought I lost you, I realized that I could never live without you. After Jaune healed you and I was able to hold you in my arms again, Ciel... that's the moment I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. It wasn't in some dirty supply closet, it wasn't some randomly timed realization like I said. It was the moment when I thought I'd lost you and had to imagine a **second** of my life without you in it... and I couldn't. I like to pretend that I'm so confident with you, like I knew from the moment we met that you'd be mine... but to this day I still can't believe you decided to put up with me, that I'm lucky enough to be standing here with you today, to be getting married to the woman of my dreams.'_

When Neo was done, she reached her hand up and gently wiped the tears off of Ciel's face. Then, she grabbed her hand and tapped it three times with her finger.

"I love you, too," Ciel whispered.

The worker looked at them with wide, shocked eyes. They'd clearly never seen a wedding done this quickly and haphazardly from a couple like Neo and Ciel.

"Uh, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" they asked.

"I do," Ciel said, cradling Neo's face in her hands.

"And do you?"

_'I do.'_

"You may now kiss the bride."

Neo wrapped her arms around Ciel's waist and leaned forward, dipping her in a dramatic fashion as she connected their lips. Ciel held Neo's face between her hands reverently, almost as if she was terrified someone would try to steal Neo from her grasp.

-

Natalie exited the dorm room, leaving Blake's wives to all stare at her lovingly.

"You were really good with her, Blakey," Ruby said, scooting closer so that she could put her head on the other girl's shoulder.

"Yeah," Weiss agreed, wrapping her arms around Blake's waist. "You'd be a good mother."

Blake stiffened slightly, but she didn't pull away.

"Yes, yes, Blake would be a great mother, but we're missing the real point here," Yang said. "She's like a flirting robot! She has algorithms! She's manipulating us!"

"Oh, Yang, you're far too strong willed to be manipulated," Blake said, cradling Yang's face in her own.

Yang smiled into the touch, but her eyes suddenly widened and she pulled away.

"Witch!" she cried.

"Well, I think it's cute that she put so much thought into making us happy," Ruby said, moving closer to Blake, who grinned down at her.

Yang threw her arms up in the air.

"Unbelievable!"

-

Neo laughed silently as she tugged Ciel back onto the airship. Ciel, her **wife**. The word thrilled her, and she dragged her to the pilot's seat.

For once, everything felt right in Neo's world. Like she'd done what she'd been made to do.

Ciel sat in her lap, and Neo rested her head on her wife's shoulder, tapping her hand three times. Ciel did the same back, and Neo lifted the airship into the air, intent on getting back to the school as soon as possible.

Her eyes darted to the mirror, and she locked eyes with Jaune. Neo gave him a thankful look and a wink, which he returned.

Neo let out a long breath, pulling Ciel closer.

Everything was finally right in her world.


	31. Philematology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to mention that I made a Disney AU pollination book if you guys wanted to check it out. I already did Tangled (ladybug) and Hercules (White Rose).

Natalie took a deep breath, opening the dorm room door.

"You're back late," Rachel said with a smirk.

Natalie barely held in an eye roll.

"Did you know that fifty moons would fit inside the world?" Ivy asked idly, glancing up at Natalie.

Natalie raised an eyebrow, trying to work through the comment.

Clearly it meant something about the world... it's a big place... a place?

_Where were you?_

"Talking to a few teachers," Natalie said dismissively.

Ivy blinked, staring at her.

Natalie smirked at her.

"Was I right?"

Oscar and Rachel glanced between the pair.

Ivy tilted her head to the aide, nodding just slightly.

"Did you know that the human heart normally beats anywhere from sixty to one hundred beats per minute?" Natalie responded.

Ivy considered.

"Seventy to-"

Natalie cut her off.

"One hundred in children under fifteen, I know."

Ivy watched her with a sort of intrigue that made Natalie's heart race and her skin crawl.

"Tri is both a Latin and Greek root that means three."

Natalie flushed deeply.

Did that mean... her eyes darted to a confused Oscar and Rachel.

_Third wheel?_

Is that...

Was Natalie misreading this, or was... Ivy flirting back? Of course, Natalie could easily be misreading this, considering she might just be enjoying trading facts.

"Duo is the Latin prefix for two," she breathed, heart _far_ exceeding the predicted sixty to one hundred beats per minute expected.

"Di is used for two instead in the scientific field," Ivy replied unblinkingly, her voice quieter than earlier.

The two locked gazes, and Rachel leaned over to Oscar.

"Am I missing something?"

"I think they're both having a stroke together," Oscar replied.

"Aww, that's... kind of romantic?" Rachel asked.

Oscar snorted.

"Scientific principles have to be tested at least three times to make sure they're... significant," Natalie said, heart racing.

Ivy stared up at her with wide eyes.

Natalie remembered Blake's words and looked away from Ivy, making sure not to look at her as she walked over to her bed.

Ivy watched her go with wide eyes. Suddenly, her face turned red and her mind spun.

Did... Natalie know what she'd just said, or had she just been trying to talk to Ivy in her language and mistranslated.

She let out a sigh and fell back against the edge of her bed.

She hadn't though that Natalie... had those sort of feelings for her. Had she missed the signs? Or had she, as she originally expected, mistranslated.

Just then, Natalie glanced at her, eyes serious, and Ivy felt understanding shoot through her.

"Natalie," she said.

The faunus jumped, looking over at her.

"Can I talk to you outside."

Natalie's eyes turned panicked, and she glanced at her other teammates for a moment, as if pleading for help.

Rachel held up her hands as if to say "don't ask me! You dug this hole for yourself!"

Natalie grimaced before she stood, walking out into the hallway as if she was marching to her death.

Ivy didn't seem to notice, and she smiled at the other girl as they got out into the hallway.

"Uh... what's up, Ives?"

"Did you know?"

Natalie grimaced just slightly.

"Know what?"

Ivy flipped her hand over and held it out invitingly.

Natalie hesitated for a moment, heart racing. But Ivy already knew. Natalie had played her hand too heavily, had said too much at the beginning, and now she just had to commit.

Natalie's hand shook as she took it, eyes falling shut.

Ivy did the same, holding the other girl's palm in her own.

She sorted through the emotions, dismissing the fear and anxiety and focusing on what was important.

Ivy's assumptions had been right. Natalie had known what she was saying, and... Ivy smiled, letting out a quiet giggle. It had been **adorable**! Especially the comment about having to comment about significance.

Natalie's eyes opened and her fear spiked at the sound, worried that Ivy was laughing at her.

Ivy leaned closer as she continued her examination, setting her head against Natalie's chest.

Natalie took a deep breath of shock, heart starting to race.

Ivy giggled again, listening to the pounding against her chest.

Natalie hesitantly set her hand against Ivy's arm.

Ivy laughed again as she felt the anxiety at the action.

"W-what...," Natalie trailed off, knowing that Ivy would know what she was wanting to say.

"You're cute when you're nervous," Ivy said.

Natalie flushed, and Ivy offhandedly slammed her boot against a flame that had started up at her side.

Ivy leaned up, lips coming within a centimeter of Natalie's own.

"You better not burn down the school," she whispered, wrapping her arms around the other girl's neck and pulling Natalie the final centimeter between them.

Natalie put her hands on Ivy's waist gently, pulling her closer.

Her wings wrapped around the two of them, covering them from the outside world completely and not letting the light in.

Ivy reached one hand up and ran it along the metallic wing with a mental smile, deepening the kiss between them.

The two pulled closer, and Natalie's sensitive ear heard the door to the side, their own dorm room door, and her wing pulled back just slightly and slammed it shut with force.

"Hey!" Rachel cried, slamming against the door with her fist. "What's going on out there!"

Natalie stopped Ivy from pulling back, her thoughts sending to the girl in her mind.

_We're tell her later._

Ivy laughed against her lips, pulling back just slightly and letting her head fall against Natalie's neck, breathing gently.

"She's frustrated," Ivy warned.

"You can actually **feel** how little I care," Natalie whispered, leaning back down.

Ivy pulled back, laughing.

When Natalie tried to stop her, Ivy leaned up and connected their lips to send her feelings toward Natalie.

The faunus gasped in shock before pulling back and exiting the other girl's wings to open the door.

Natalie's heart raced, and Ivy gave her an almost flirtatious smirk as she opened the door.

"What happened?" Rachel asked.

"Did you know philematology is the study of kissing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone wants a translation of the FACTS I used and what they mean in this situation, just comment and I'll explain (it's very flirtatious, like... "kiss me rn I'm dying" level)


	32. Congratulations

"You got married?! And you didn't even invite us?!" Nora cried in shock.

 _'It **was** our marriage. We decided who to invite,'_ Neo said, making Nora huff.

"We invited two people, you need two witnesses to get married," Ciel said, setting her head against Neo's shoulder.

"Is that why you invited us?" Jaune asked.

"Well, we did decide who we wanted to be the two witnesses," Ciel replied, earning a grin and a thumbs up from Penny.

"Unbelievable. You **know** how good of a wedding planner I am!" Sun cried, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Neo, I thought we were buds!" Coco cried.

_'Yeah, but you didn't save Ciel's life.'_

"True. I can't argue with that one, but _still_!"

Neo snickered, shaking her head as she grabbed Ciel's hand.

"Sorry, sorry, you're right. Congratulations!" Coco cried, clapping. There was a loud of cheering from the group at the words, Nora even letting out a whoop of excitement.

"Yeah! Maybe we can convince Glynda to give you two tomorrow off!" Ruby said happily. 

"Wait, wait, wait," Coco said suddenly. "Neo, is this the first time you've had a last name?"

The former criminal nodded, grinning.

"Neopolitan Soleil... I think it fits!" Sun said.

"Okay, but seriously, no more secret weddings! I've gotta come to them!" Nora whined.

"Pyrrha, Ils, now we **have** to have a secret wedding if we get married," Sun said.

"If?" Ilia asked, smirking as she crossed her arms.

Pyrrha watched the two with wide eyes.

Sun gasped, putting a hand to his chest.

"Ils, if there's not a ring on this finger, it's _definitely_ an if. Maybe you should hurry, I think that one of my students is attempting to sweep me off of my feet."

Coco snorted.

"I heard there's a list circulating of hottest teachers," she said.

The group's interest was peaked, and they looked at team CFVY's leader.

"Hey, I don't _have_ it, just a rumor I heard. I **also** heard they're taking bets on how long until different couples break up."

There were several laughs and offended noises.

"One kid's got a lot riding on team RWBY breaking up in the next month, so you four better speak up if you do," Coco said with a wry smile.

That elicited a loud snort from Nora, who collapsed against Jaune's side as she laughed.

Weiss made an indignant sound, glaring at Coco.

" _That's_ what students are talking about?! I'm **not** assigning enough homework if they have enough time to talk about the impossible."

"Hey, just saying what I heard, Weiss," Coco replied, holding up her hands defensively.

"How do you just _hear_ these kinds of things?" Fox asked.

"She's a gossip," Velvet replied, making Coco glance at her with a look of betrayal.

"Am not!"

"Yes, you are," Velvet said, not sparing her girlfriend a second glance.

Fox burst out laughing, soon followed by others.

"I am **not** a gossip!" Coco cried.

"Coco being a gossip aside," Winter said, making the team leader gasp, "I'll be more than happy to cover your class for the next few days if you two want to have an impromptu honeymoon."

Neo grinned and started to nod, but Ciel smacked her arm.

"A day would be more than enough, thank you, Winter."

_'But we just got married! We deserve more time off!'_

"Should have thought about that before deciding to get married on a random weekend," Ciel replied.

 _'You said yes!'_ Neo argued petulantly.

"And now we're married, and we will get Monday off. If that was your little evil scheme from the beginning, you succeed."

_'Ah, yes, the reason I decided to risk my life and being thrown in jail from the moment I met you, fight a **literal** demon woman, and then enroll as a teacher at this school with you was all so that I could get a random Monday off after tricking you into marrying me. You figured out my plan, Gorgeous.'_

"I knew it," Ciel said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the former criminal.

Coco made a sound of disgust.

"Dust, just go get a room already," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Not our team room," Winter snapped.

Neo rolled her eyes.

_'There's not that many rooms, Win.'_

"You have an airship and over twenty-four hours. Go."

Neo smirked, grabbing Ciel by the hand and immediately pulling her out of the hallway.

"Well, they certainly didn't waste any time," Fox said.

There was a moment of laughter before the group started to disperse.

Team RWBY made their way down the hall while team JNIPRS started to head toward their dorm. Team CFVY was talking idly, heading toward the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, Penny excitedly rushed outside, dragging Winter behind her, to wish their teammates a happy honeymoon, promising that she would help Winter cover extra days if they decided they wanted some more time.

-

Ruby skipped down the hall, holding Weiss' hand in her own and swinging it back and forth.

"Aw, I'm so happy for Neo and Ciel! It seems like everyone is just finally happy! Like we can all move on from what happened!" the team leader said.

"And everyone can get married?" Yang asked with a small smirk.

"I would have said move on with the next stage of their lives and relationships," Weiss said, eyes flickering just for a moment to land on Blake.

The faunus got an odd feeling that her wives were watching her, but when she looked, she didn't see any gazes following her.

"Who do you think will get married next?" Ruby asked happily.

"Who knows," Yang said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Neo comes snooping around for sperm donors soon. She _really_ wants to get the whole normal family thing... I mean, as close as she can get to it, considering she's married to another woman at twenty and an ex-criminal that spent her entire life on the streets."

Blake glanced at her teammates with slightly widened eyes.

Weiss took a deep breath, trying to be subtle.

"Well, there have been recent developments with dust that-"

A loud voice cut her off.

"Hey, wait up!" Natalie called, skidding to a stop when she reached team RWBY, grinning like a fool.

Yang smiled down at her, and Blake found herself doing the same.

"I just wanted to say thanks for the advice yesterday! You guys have been... well, you four have been amazing. You got me prosthetics, you taught me how to talk to girls, you taught me _actual_ school stuff... I just wanted to say thanks for everything," Natalie said, turning a bit embarrassed at the end of her words.

"Hey, no problem! Glad to help!" Yang said, lightly punching the student in the arm.

"How'd it go?" Ruby asked excitedly.

"Great! It went great! We're actually together now, thanks to you guys! You were right, I just needed to find the right way to get my point across."

Ruby squealed in excitement, clapping her hands happily.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" she said, rushing forward and giving the younger girl a quick hug.

"You're welcome, Natalie. I'm glad that my advice was helpful," Blake said, heart filling with an unfamiliar sense of pride. She glanced at her wives, finding their interactions with the younger girl unbelievably endearing.

"If she hurts you, just come talk to us," Weiss said suddenly, eyes turning slightly dangerous.

Natalie laughed, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, she won't hurt me."

"She better not," Yang said.

As if summoned, Ivy rounded the corner, eyes slightly distracted as she looked at team RWBY.

Natalie smiled a bit shyly at the other girl as she approached, hesitantly letting her hand slip into Ivy's own.

"Did you know that sixty-seven percent of faunus grow up without positive parental figures in their lives?" Ivy asked, tilting her head to the side.

Natalie glanced at her, gaining a look of consideration as she translated the words. Blake frowned, wondering if that was some sort of insult.

Natalie's eyes widened, and she flushed slightly.

"It's not an insult," she said quickly. "Just... something for me."

Ivy considered again, staring up at team RWBY.

Weiss seemed unnerved at the look.

"What did she mean?" Yang asked.

"She meant...," Natalie sighed, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "I should just thank you guys for being there for me when I really needed someone to look up to after... everything."

Ruby frowned worriedly, looking as if she was wondering if Natalie needed a hug.

"I never had a very... close relationship with my parents, and... Ivy's saying that I should just tell you guys... thanks for being good parental figures for me."

Natalie flushed and glanced at her girlfriend.

 _Why do you always have to be so insightful?_ she thought.

Ivy smiled innocently and shook her head.

This wasn't about Natalie, at least not entirely.

Yang grinned, looping an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Hey, no problem! We had a lot of fun helping you out, right?"

Weiss and Ruby nodded quickly, and Blake's eyes widened slightly.

_Parental figures..._

"Uh, yeah, we did, actually," the faunus said slowly.

Ivy smirked and leaned over, setting her head against Natalie's chest.

"If you ever need anything, just ask!" Ruby said happily, grabbing Weiss' hand while Yang grabbed Blake's.

Natalie gave them a wide smile before she was dragged away by Ivy's distracted path down the hall.

Just as they got out of human earshot, but still within what a faunus could hear, Ivy spoke again.

"Did you know that human couples have an average of two point five children while faunus have an average of three?"

Blake paled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, people! Just thought I'd drop by and say this will probably be the only chapter for today, unless my killer headache goes away, so see you guys tomorrow!


	33. Passage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who was so nice about my headache yesterday!

The next few weeks at Beacon fell into a steady rhythm.

History class with Nora and Sun actually started to teach about the past centuries instead of the recent additions to textbooks across the world, and the pair was always only a day ahead of what they were teaching. Despite the sometimes dry content, they were always able to spice it up for the students, making it interesting (especially when, for a week long period, Nora had the students reenact a war... the number of students that had had to be hospitalized were, to quote Nora "irrelevant"). The only complaint anyone could have, other than the occasional physical harm that could come of the students in class, was that Nora _still_ found a new way to embarrass Oscar everyday, which he thought shouldn't be possible.

Theoretical Dust Studies, as boring as it sounded, soon became a student favorite. Dust could do all sorts of impossible things from explosions to technological innovations to fighting... to children (which was what constant seemed to play in Ruby and Yang's heads, filling Weiss with an odd mixture of intrigue and horror that she didn't exactly want to dwell on).

Over the next few weeks, even the weapons class, taught by Ruby and Penny, didn't have that make close calls with injuries. Albeit maybe one or two anti-faunus students had been "accidentally" been harmed when Ruby had gotten her hands on weapons that she'd "never handled before," but really that was nothing compared to Coco and Yang's class, which seemed to be sending a different racist to the infirmary every day (much to Glynda's frustration).

Despite that, the hand-to-hand combat training class had been doing surprisingly well, all things considered. The three teachers, Coco, Yang, and Ren, each had very different teaching styles, but they worked well together, as they could each help different types of students, depending on their personalities and semblances.

The same sort of thing was happening in Pyrrha and Velvet's class, as the two were well versed in the different types of semblances they could encounter, making them virtually dictionaries for any curious student (read: Ivy, who was pretty much the only student that cared to know all about that sort of thing).

Despite a brief two day absence, the two Mrs. Soleils returned to teach their classes as if nothing had happened, except for the rather obvious last name change, which had prompted several nosy students (most noticeably Rachel) to ask what had happened. Neo and Ciel had been so sidetracked that class had gone by without them being able to teach anything (which Natalie had cheered over).

Ilia and Blake's class was even doing better, as the two faunus had finally found the confidence to give lectures without stumbling over themselves. It turns out, they both know a _lot_ about the moral code of the huntsman and huntress. Despite most thinking that the class was unnecessary (and even boring), the two were able to win over almost every student (except the anti-faunus ones, but those seemed to spend a suspicious amount of time in the infirmary for reasons the two didn't know and didn't bother to find out).

And, as time passed, they drew closer to the end of the first semester, which made Weiss, Yang, and Ruby anxious. They'd been planning to bring up their... plans for the future with Blake before them, but each of them was only a breath from chickening out.

Blake didn't seem to notice that they were always talking about kids, and that was probably because they were constantly doing it behind her back.

"Why can't we just say 'Blakey, we love you, please let us have your children!' It would be so simple," Ruby whined.

Weiss flushed at the words, smacking her wife in the back of her head.

"It's far more complicated than that!" she snapped.

"Rubes, come on, that's what you tried to do with the proposal. Screaming what you want at people is **not** the best approach," Yang said.

"First of all, you're one to talk, Yang," Weiss started, "second of all, she wanted to propose _how_?!"

"Ruby wanted to just ask you to marry us on a dirty airship without any rings in front of everyone," Yang said dismissively, waving her hand.

Weiss glanced at Ruby with a sort of questioning look in her eyes, as if asking "how did I fall in love with this woman?"

Ruby laughed awkwardly.

"I'm sure they would have said yes!"

Yang and Weiss looked at her.

"Fine! How do _you_ want to ask her then, Yang?" Ruby asked, crossing her arms sullenly.

Yang hesitated before she smirked.

"Are you a diaper? Cause I wanna put a baby in you."

Weiss and Ruby stared at her.

"That was possibly the worst thing I've ever heard in my life," Weiss said.

"I need brain bleach," Ruby groaned.

"It was funny!" Yang defended.

"It was _horrible_!" Weiss snapped.

Yang huffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Then what's your great idea, Angel?"

"We talk to her life rational adults, tell her what we've been thinking, and hope that she will feel the same."

"That's so _boring_ ," Ruby whined, leaning against the wall and kicking at the ground.

"Rubes, do you want a baby or not?"

"Of course I do!" Ruby snapped at her sister.

"Then this is what we're going with, because **apparently** my approach wasn't good enough."

"Your approach was horrific and genuinely disturbing. I never want to discuss it again," Weiss said.

"Seriously, it wasn't _that_ bad!"

The door opened, and the three jumped.

"What wasn't?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yang's flirting," Ruby said instantly.

Blake smirked.

"I can assure you, however bad they said it was, it is," the faunus said, leaning down to give Weiss a quick kiss.

Yang threw up her hands.

"I can have good ideas!" she snapped.

"Yeah, marrying us," Weiss said with a small smile.

Yang rolled her eyes sufferingly.

"I am seriously underappreciated here."

"We appreciate you just fine," Blake said, looping her arms around Yang's neck and pulling her down for a kiss. "Now do you want to keep complaining, or..."

Yang grinned.

"No, I think I want more of that!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also:  
> Ruby, Yang, and Weiss: We want baby.  
> Blake, panicking: Ruby is baby!


	34. The Decision

Yang let out a groan, running a hand down her face.

"So we're _not_ opening with a joke?"

"Absolutely **not** ," Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

"But there are _so_ many good jokes that I could use!" Yang whined.

"Then why haven't you said any funny ones?!" Ruby asked.

Yang threw up her arms.

"You have no taste, Rubes," she replied with an eye roll.

"Hey! I have great taste in women at least!" the team leader said, wrapping her arms around Weiss' waist.

Weiss blushed slightly, slapping at Ruby's hands.

"Hey! Focus! We're supposed to be figuring out how to ask Blake-"

"Ask Blake what?" the faunus asked as she pushed the door open. The three girls jumped, Yang falling off the bed and letting out a groan as she rubbed the back of her head with a grimace.

"Nothing!" Ruby cried.

Blake raised an eyebrow as she helped Yang to her feet.

"You three breaking up with me? Knew I should have gotten a pre-nup."

Ruby and Yang rolled their eyes while Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms.

"Definitely not what we're talking about."

"Then tell me what you're trying to ask me?" Blake asked.

Ruby opened her mouth, and Weiss slapped her hand over it immediately afterward.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Now my interest is peaked. Do tell."

Ruby glanced at Weiss and Yang hesitantly, and Weiss sighed.

"Ruby, go ahead," the former heiress said, shaking her head sufferingly.

Ruby grinned in excitement, bouncing up and down.

"Blakey! We want to have kids!"

Blake froze immediately, eyes going wide.

"I... I'm sorry.... what?!"

"Children! We want kids!" Ruby said happily, smiling up at her.

Blake stared at her blankly.

"I don't think that's the part she's confused by," Weiss whispered.

"No, no... I'm confused by _all_ of it!" Blake said, starting to pace back and forth.

"Hey, no pressure, it's okay," Yang started to say, stepping forward to intercept her wife's pacing.

Blake shook her head, ears pressing against her head.

"No, there's... there's definitely some pressure here," the faunus said, gently prying Yang's hands off of her shoulder and starting to pace back and forth again with her hands in front of her, starting to fidget.

"It's really not, Blakey, it's alright if you're not ready," Ruby said gently.

"You mean now, right? Like... soon? Like... within the next few months?" Blake asked, walking faster at the words.

"That was kind of the idea, but if that's too much pressure-"

"I need to think!" Blake cried, cutting Yang off as she continued her quick trip across the room.

Her wives glanced at one another hesitantly, eyes wide.

"Maybe we should talk about this later-"

Ruby stopped talking as Blake gave her a small glare.

Weiss let out a growl and stepped forward, grabbing Blake by the hands.

"Hey! Stop it! Just breathe!" she snapped.

Blake hesitated before letting out a long sigh, shaking her head slightly.

"I just... need a second to think. I'm sorry," Blake said, running a hand up and down her wife's arm.

Weiss smiled at her, letting her go as Blake relaxed slightly, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry, I just... I always saw this as something that would be... at least a few years in the future," Blake said.

"It still can be. No pressure," Ruby said gently.

"No, there's... some pressure," Blake said. "I mean... if you three want a kid... then of course there's some pressure. I don't want to be the reason you _don't_ have a kid! And I think that all three of you would be great parents! It's just... I don't really see myself as..."

Ruby darted forward and grabbed her wife by the hands.

"You'd be a great mother, Blake!" Ruby said with a large smile.

Blake shook her head, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Sugar, that's really sweet, but-"

"She's right," Yang said quickly, putting her hand on the faunus' shoulder gently, "you'd be a great mom! You're kind, patient enough to deal with us, a great person all around, and you're good with kids!'

"I'm _horrible_ with kids!" Blake cried.

"You're great as a teacher," Weiss responded, slipping her hand into Blake's gently.

"But what if... what if I ruin them?! What if I drop the baby?! What if I spoil them?! What if I'm too worried about spoiling them and then they hate me because I'm so mean to them?! What if-"

Yang pulled her closer, letting the faunus set her head against her chest.

"But you're not going to be alone, Kit-Kat. All three of us will be with you!"

"That's two times as many parents as most children would have!" Ruby cried excitedly.

"She's... actually got a point this time," Weiss replied.

Ruby stuck her tongue out at the former heiress, who scoffed.

"Real mature, Ruby."

Blake let out a sigh, letting her head fall further against Yang further, wrapping Ruby and Weiss in her arms.

"What if we're too young? What if this tears us apart? I don't want to be a horrible mother. What if instead of having four mothers, we make them have four idiots arguing all the time?!"

"Blake, that's not what's going to happen, we love you, you love us," Ruby said, looping her arms around the faunus' waist.

"Blake, I love you, you're precious, and you're a gift sent to this world," Weiss said, reaching her hands up so that she could cradle Blake's face in them, "but stop being an idiot. You're a great person, and you'd be a great mom. And nothing will come between us, Blake."

Blake moved closer to Weiss' hands so that her wife could hold her tighter.

"I don't want to mess up, Weiss. I know we all had slightly... unorthodox childhoods, and with four mothers? Who would they look to as a paternal role model? What are we going to do about a sperm donor? Will one of us be jealous if someone else is the biological mother? Will it be awkward for Ruby and Yang to be both the mother and the aunt to the child? Would the child just call both of them mom? Or would we just adopt? And how would we support a child? We don't even have a house! Our jobs aren't set in stone, we risk our lives constantly, and-"

Yang set her hand over Blake's mouth with a small chuckle.

"Give us a second to catch up, Kit-Kat. Not everyone is as smart as you, and Rubes and I definitely can't keep up," the blond said.

"We've been meaning to tell you, but we just couldn't ever find the time to say it... there's this dust, and... it can let up to three of us be the parents of our very own _child_ , Blake," Weiss said gently.

"So no sperm donor," Ruby said with a grin.

"And no adoption! Unless you want to, of course," Yang said, reaching her hand up to run through Blake's hair, gently petting her ears.

Blake glanced at the four.

"Okay, more about that later, but what about supporting them?" Blake asked, letting out a sigh.

"Blake, there's **four** of us," Yang said, rolling her eyes, "of course four people could support _one kid_."

Ruby fidgeted.

"Or two, I mean, or **five** , looking ahead like twenty years. And let's not forget we're all Huntresses now, so we'll definitely be fine," Yang continued.

Blake glanced at Ruby with wide eyes, letting out a long sigh and rubbing her face with her hands.

Ruby reached up so that she could grab Blake's hand.

"And other unnecessary questions?" Weiss asked lovingly, pulling her closer.

"What if... what if we ruin their lives?" she breathed quietly. "I've never been really... in charge of someone else's safety."

All three of her wives stared at her.

"Uh, Kit-Kat, I hate to break it to you, but you kind of take care of all three of us and our safety constantly," Yang said.

Weiss tried to argue, but Yang continued.

"You make sure that Ruby eats, you keep me from doing stupid stuff _all the time_ , and you make sure Weiss gets enough sleep because you _know_ she works herself too hard. You're like, the unofficial mom of this weird family," Yang said.

Weiss huffed, crossing her arms.

Ruby nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! You're awesome, Blake!"

"I think Rubes _actually_ might have starved at some point during our adventures if she hadn't married you," Yang said.

"The point is," Weiss said with an eye roll, "that you're already great at taking care of people, so you really don't have to worry about taking care of a baby."

Blake rolled her eyes.

"But I've never even _held_ a child! There's... there's books for this kind of thing! And... and _dust_ , I _really_ don't want to have to deal with my mom being all up in our business constantly!" Blake cried, pulling closer to the other three.

"Then **buy** books, Blake," Weiss said with a huff.

Blake hesitated.

"You're all... you're all sure about this? This isn't some sort of passing fantasy, like 'oh, babies are so cute!' You actually all want to have a child?" she asked.

"Definitely!" Ruby cried, Yang nodded excitedly in agreement.

"Blake, we wouldn't be doing this if weren't serious," Weiss said.

"Then..." Blake let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Then okay. If you three want to have a baby... then okay."

Ruby squealed in excitement, pulling closer to her wife and connecting their lips. Blake wrapped her arms around the other girl's waist lovingly, pulling her into the air slightly. Ruby slapped Yang's hand away from Blake's head so that she could run her hands over the faunus' cat ears.

Blake's chest rumbled with a purr, which sounded loudly through the air around them. Ruby giggled at the sound, putting one hand on her wife's chest so that she could feel the rumbling against the faunus' ribcage.

"Alright, alright, break it up, break it up," Yang said with a scoff.

Ruby let out a whine at the words, but she let the faunus pull away with a small sigh.

"Why?" she asked Yang. "We need to get pregnant anyways, right?"

"That's not how it's going to work... do you not understand...," Weiss shook her head to clear it. "Never mind, that's not what's important. What matters is that there's more for us to talk about."

Ruby glanced at her and let out a sigh, setting her head against the former heiress' chest gently.

"What else is there?" Ruby asked.

"Rubes, we talked about this...," Yang said, rolling her eyes.

Weiss let out a huff and shaking her head.

"So the dust works by letting multiple people mix their auras to have a child of their own. The science of it... doesn't matter at the moment, I guess, but what really matters is that up to three of us can have a child together, because Ruby and Yang can't mix their auras for... obvious reasons. So the real question is... which of them will be a biological mother to the first child?"

Ruby and Yang turned to face each other, each slamming the bottom of their fist into the palm of their palm.

"What are they doing?" Weiss asked.

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" the two sisters said together.

Yang revealed a paper, while Ruby had-

"DUST!" Ruby cried, letting out a groan as she glared up her own hand, which had thrown rock, as if it had betrayed her.

"Haha!" Yang cried in excitement, grabbing Weiss and Blake around the waists and holding them in the air enthusiastically.

Ruby let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"Can they at least call me mom?" Ruby asked. "I don't want to be the creepy aunt that sometimes makes out with two of their mothers."

"Of course you'll be their mother!" Weiss snapped.

"Heck yeah!" Yang cried with an excited grin.

Ruby sighed, pouting slightly.

Blake tore her gaze away from her wife, but the image of Ruby's face was burned into her eyes.

"Ruby, don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Ruby asked. Blake glanced at her, and saw that she was making the same expression she'd seen a moment ago.

"Weiss, Yang, make her stop looking at me like that!" Blake whined slightly.

"I'm not in charge of her little gremlin face," Yang said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! You already get to have the kid, don't make fun of me!" Ruby cried, crossing her arms.

"You're still a parent, Ruby!" Weiss said with a groan.

Ruby shook her head to clear it, smiling at her teammates.

"Right, right, I know! And I'll love them _as_ a mother, not like one! I get that!"

Blake looked down at her.

"Promise?"

Ruby nodded excitedly.

"Even if you had another kid that was yours?" Blake asked. "Would you love the other one more?"

Ruby let out an offended sound.

"What?! Of course not!"

A beat of silence.

"Wait! She's talking about a second kid! Blakey's talking about a second kid!" Ruby cried excitedly. Yang and Weiss glanced at her.

"Are you _sure_?" Blake asked.

Ruby nodded happily, and Blake let out a sigh of frustration, letting her head land against Yang's shoulder. She glanced back down at Ruby, finding the sincerity in her eyes

"Fine. Fine! But let it be known that none of you should **ever** doubt my love of you," Blake said with a small groan.

"What?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright. We can... we can have two kids. But _only_ if Ruby promises never to use that look on me again."

There was a beat of shocked silence.

"That's not going to happen, Kit-Kat," Yang said.

"A month of no pouty face, and I give in," Blake said.

Ruby squealed in excitement, throwing herself into Blake's arms and causing the faunus to stumble into Yang's arms. Yang let out a loud laugh of excitement, grabbing both of her wives and her sister into her arms and falling against the bed with them, laughing.

Weiss had a moment of stunned silence.

"So... are you sure?" the former heiress asked.

Blake nodded.

"They could be like twins!" Ruby cried in excitement.

"Wait, wait, you mean two kids, like, at the same time?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't, because that's what Ruby would latch onto," Blake said with a small smirk.

"Who's going to carry the babies?" Yang asked.

A beat of silence.

"To be fair, it was _your_ idea," Blake said, looking between her wives, who all scoffed at her words.

"I can carry a baby!" Ruby said happily.

There was a tense moment where Weiss and Yang looked at each other before Yang held up her hands, one fist in the palm of her hand.

Weiss scoffed.

"You can't be serious," the former heiress said with a laugh.

"I'm serious," Yang said.

"Rock, paper, scissors," Yang and Ruby started to chant, "rock, paper, scissors! Rock, paper, scissors!"

"Fine!" Weiss snapped, raising her hands so that they were parallel to each other.

Yang grinned, and Weiss watched her warily, both of their hearts hammering in their chests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you think won?


	35. Baby... Parents

"Haha!" Yang cried, throwing her hands up into the air in excitement. "Suck it, Weiss!"

Weiss scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Yang had thrown scissors while Weiss had given paper, and she sighed in frustration.

"Looks like it's you and me, sis!" Yang said happily.

"Uh, what?" Weiss asked, frowning. "I lost, which means _I'm_ carrying the baby."

"What? I thought _winner_ carried the baby!" Yang snapped, raising an eyebrow.

Blake glanced between the two, wondering if she should distance herself before they got in a fight... but then realized that they were all piled on the bed, Ruby and Weiss sprawled out on top of her, which meant that she didn't have a way to remove herself from the situation. The faunus let out a sigh, shaking her head and deciding to just lean back against Yang, hoping she didn't get hit in the face by a stray elbow.

"Uh, no?" Weiss said, laughing as she shook her head.

"I thought it was the winner too!" Ruby replied.

"Well, you're both wrong," Weiss said, crossing her arms.

"Sounds like someone wants to carry the kid," Blake said, grinning. She decided to give up on just staying silent.

Weiss flushed, glancing down.

"Well..."

Yang grinned, elbowing the former heiress with a laugh.

Weiss took a moment to think, her face turning redder.

"I wouldn't be... opposed, I guess."

"Ya hear that, Rubes?" Yang asked with a chuckle. "Weiss wants to carry _my_ baby, not yours!"

Ruby rolled her eyes, and Blake let out a huff.

"They're _both_ be _all_ our kids," the faunus said.

Yang shushed her.

"I know that, Kit-Kat, but you _also_ know that I love to make fun of my sister, so let me have this!" Yang cried.

Blake exchanged a suffering look with Weiss, the two both rolling their eyes.

"So who is it?" Ruby asked, looping her arms around Blake and holding her tighter.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Yang started to chant.

"Oh no, I'm definitely not going to do that again," Weiss said with a scoff.

"Then I win," Yang said.

"Which means that I get t- _have_ to carry the baby," Weiss said with a flush.

Yang laughed.

"Aw, you look so cute when you turn red," she said, reaching down so that she could run her hand through the former heiress' hair.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Fine, fine, you can have this one...," Yang smirked as she glanced down at Blake. "I'll take the next one."

Blake choked, coughing loudly.

Yang laughed, slapping her on the back.

"Hey, hey, calm down, Kit-Kat, you just have to worry about the two."

Blake started to calm before her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh dust," the faunus muttered to herself. "I actually agreed to have two kids with you three."

Her wives glanced at her.

"What the... what is wrong with me?!" Blake cried.

Ruby and Yang both held her closer.

"Too late to back out now, Blakey!" Ruby cried, burrowing her face into the faunus' shoulder gently.

Blake took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and making a sound that was similar to a quiet scream.

"Yeah, I know. Too late, _way_ too late to back out now. Too late the minute I confessed," Blake said, chuckling quietly.

"That's right. You can't escape," Weiss said, leaning closer to Blake.

"Your love might have _actually_ made me stupider," Blake said.

"Oh, hush," Weiss replied, rolling her eyes.

"WAIT!" Yang suddenly cried, making Blake flinch and Weiss cover her ears. "Oh my dust! Rubes, you're eighteen!"

"Almost nineteen," Ruby muttered.

"Which means this is, **technically** , a teen pregnancy."

Weiss huffed. Yang snickered to herself.

"Blake, Weiss... you're knocking up my teenage sister!"

Ruby let out a groan and pulled her wives closer.

"Your _teenage wife_!" Yang cried.

"Yang, don't ruin this moment," Weiss said.

"Dust, this is the story we'll have to tell our kids!" Ruby cried, groaning against Blake's shoulder.

"Dust, we have to tell them the _whole_ story," Blake breathed, eyes wide. "And then _Nora_ will tell the story."

"With far too much detail," Weiss added, sighing to herself.

"Dust, they're going to be around our children," Yang said.

"Don't sound scared, Yang, you're going to be around the children too, that should be the real worry," Ruby said.

"Hey!" Yang snapped, making her sister laugh.

Blake ignored them, head spinning. That meant they needed a permanent living situation, because a child couldn't live in a teacher's room at Beacon. That meant they needed to get their paychecks from Glynda, which meant that they had to be serious about this idea.

Blake nodded to herself. Two children wasn't actually that much when you think about four people supporting... yeah, yeah two children wouldn't be too many... and they'd make it work. Of course the four of them would make it work. They were _team RWBY_! They could make _anything_ work! Two kids weren't too much to handle for the four of them! They'd taken down a demon woman, after all!

"I love you," Blake said. "And you're lucky, too, because you three would probably kill a child without me."

"That's fair," Yang said while Ruby and Weiss let out sounds of disagreement.

"Without me, you would have been pregnant... however long ago you started to consider this," Blake said.

"Three months ago," Weiss said.

"Five months ago," Yang corrected.

"A year ago," Ruby said happily.

"Ruby... we haven't been married for a year," Weiss said.

"I said what I said," Ruby said, holding her head up slightly.

Blake laughed, shaking her head.

"Rubes has always been excited about having kids," Yang said, making her sister elbow her.

"So we're just a way for you to have kids?" Blake asked, gesturing at herself and Weiss.

"Twice the kids, since there's four of us," Yang said, making Blake pale slightly.

"Yeah, not twice the kids, we don't have enough money for that," Blake muttered. Yang waved her hand dismissively.

"No!" Ruby cried. "I just..."

She trailed off, blushing, and Yang shook her to make her keep talking.

"I'm not just... excited to be having kids... I'm glad I'm having _their_ kids! I love them!" Ruby said, pulling her wives closer.

Blake and Weiss stared down at her lovingly.

"Yeah, I guess it's good that it's their kids, considering we're married to them," Yang said.

Blake and Weiss rolled their eyes.

"This is why Blake and Ruby are better at flirting than you," Weiss said.

Yang rolled her eyes.

"That's no way to talk to your future baby momma/baby daddy... I don't know how it works in that case, but... point is, don't talk to the person that's going to knock you up like that!" Yang said.

Weiss huffed.

"Never mind, I'm out."

"No!" Ruby and Yang cried.

Weiss laughed, shaking her head.


	36. The Talk

"So you're having a baby?" Nora asked with a look of awe.

Ruby started to nod before she held up two fingers.

"Two!"

Yang grinned, throwing her arms around her sister's shoulders with a laugh.

"Shouldn't you... start with one?" Jaune asked.

Blake nodded, eyes wide as she sucked in a deep breath.

"Yeah. Yeah, probably," the faunus said.

"Blake looks like she's seen a ghost," Ilia said.

"The ghost of her bank account," Coco said, grinning.

Blake let out a breath.

Velvet slapped her girlfriend on the arm with a groan. Coco just laughed.

Sun raced into the room, panting as he slammed a binder against the table.

The binder almost hit five people, but he didn't seem to care.

"I have been waiting for this day since you four got married! Alright, so the first few tabs are about sperm donors, which include family, friends, and several sperm banks. But, if that's not what you want to talk about, I've also got a few leads on houses that are within your budget, as well as budget ideas-"

"Sun, why do you have a binder with our life planned out in it?" Blake asked, flipping through the papers with wide eyes. "This is creepy."

Weiss grabbed it with a sort of reverence to her expression.

"This is amazing and it's mine now," the former heiress said.

Blake stole it back.

"Are these baby name suggestions?" the faunus asked, eyes wide.

"Uh... well, they're just... _all_ possible baby names... not specifically for you four," Sun said, stealing the paper back by ripping it out of the binder.

Ilia pushed herself to the tips of her toes to get a good look at it.

Sun shoved it into his pocket, leaning forward over the binder with his tail wagging excitedly.

"So, I was thinking that a place near here would work well considering you're probably going to be working here again next year-"

"I take it back, this is amazing... still creepy though," Blake said with reverence as she flipped through the papers.

Sun grinned.

"Thank you!" he said. "So I was thinking that if Ren wanted to be a sperm donor," Ren looked up with wide eyes, both of his partners doing the same, "then it would probably be best that the mother be-"

"Sun! We're not using a sperm donor!" Yang called over him.

"Ah! Adoption, then! I know some great orphanages, especially those that have been affected by the White Fang, and-"

"We're not adopting either!" Yang said, holding up her hands.

Sun considered for a moment.

"Oh! Are the dust rumors really true?" Sun asked, flipping through a few more tabs on his binder.

"I... yes, they are," Weiss said slowly.

"Then you should probably read this, because it's all the information I could get on it."

Sun pushed the binder back toward the four girls, grinning.

"Wait, hold on a second, you've been planning this since our wedding?!" Yang asked, eyes wide.

"Yup! I knew you four wouldn't take long!" Sun said happily, tail almost hitting Ren in the face as it waved back and forth excitedly.

"And... these are the projected expenses?" Blake asked, flipping through a few papers. Weiss slapped her hand.

"Uh, yeah. Anyways, I assume you know how the dust creates a child, but the process is a bit complicated. Each parent needs to put their hands on the dust cryst-"

"We'll figure it out, Sun!" Weiss said, flushing.

"It's nothing dirty! Just a little complicated," Sun said.

"We can figure it out," Blake said, "but this is... very kind... and it looks like a lot of effort went into it."

Yang laughed and laid her head against Weiss' shoulder.

"Didn't know you were the... plan for the future type," Ilia whispered to her boyfriend.

"Definitely! I mean... I never _stick_ to the plan, but there can still be a **plan**!" Sun said, looping his arm around Ilia's shoulder with a grin.

"This is... a pretty solid plan," Weiss said as she continued to flip through the binder with a growing smile on her face.

"Heck yeah it is!"

Yang smirked.

"But we're not naming our first kid Indigo," the blond said.

"I just thought you might like it! You know, because it's a color name like Ruby," Sun defended.

"Hey, what you three want to name your kid is none of my business," Yang said, holding her hands up. "But please don't ruin their life like that."

Pyrrha smiled as she pulled Ilia closer to her.

"Ilia wants to name her first son Clover. That's all I know," the redhead said.

Ilia flushed and leaned closer to her partners.

"Aw, that's really sweet, Ils," Sun said, grinning as he put his tail around Ilia's waist.

Winter, for the first time since this conversation had started, said something.

"Weiss... if the four of you are serious about this idea, then I would be more than willing to help you find some of this dust."

Weiss grabbed Winter in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she said.

"If you're sure," Winter repeated.

Weiss laughed.

"We're sure."

"Oh, you four are gonna have the cutest babies!" Nora cried. "Faunus babies are always the cutest!"

"Racist," Blake muttered. "And the kids aren't _necessarily_ going to be faunus."

"It's the dominant trait, and there's a two in three chance that you'll attribute to any given trait. That means there's a two in three chance that, at any point, the child will be a faunus," Sun said.

Everyone stared at him.

"What?! I'm allowed to know basic statistics!" Sun said.

"Honey, it's not that you're _not allowed it_ know them, it's just... not very like you," Ilia said.

"I take offense," Sun said.

"Good!" the chameleon faunus said, elbowing him with a small smirk.

Sun laughed.

"Faunus babies are so cute!" Nora cried, clapping her hands in excitement.

Blake stared at her blankly, but Nora didn't seem to care, and just laughed more.

"Hey! You aren't allowed to be upset with _me_! I'm being the responsible one here for once! I'm not about to be a part of a **teen pregnancy**!" Nora cried.

Ruby glared at her.

"Barely! It's not like... that!" Ruby claimed, letting out a sigh.

"Isn't it?" Oscar asked. "Guess I dodged a bullet considering Ruby was baby crazy."

"Oh, please! You didn't dodge _anything_! You **wish** you could have had her," Weiss said, wrapping her arms around Ruby defensively.

Oscar rolled his eyes while Ruby laughed and leaned back against Weiss.

Penny tilted her head to the side.

"Girlfriend Winter?" she asked, leaning to the side so that she could whisper to her. "Are you unsatisfied that we're still dating? Are you wishing to have children like your sister?"

Winter's face turned bright red, her eyes widened intensely, and she started to cough uncontrollably.

"Girlfriend Winter? Are you alright?" she asked.

Winter finally stopped coughing.

"Fine... yeah! I'm fine! Don't worry about me not being happy, I... _definitely_ don't want to move as fast as they are," Winter said, shaking her head as she put her hand on Penny's waist.

"Okay!" Penny said happily, leaning against her girlfriend gently. "I love you!"

"I love you, too," Winter said, shaking her head as she cleared her throat.

"I think this went about as well as we could expect," Yang whispered to her wives and sister, laughing.

"Does this seriously have every color name ever?!" Ruby cried.

"I mean... except Emerald," Sun said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.


	37. Creeping Up On You

As the week passed, Blake seemed to be getting more and more stressed with each passing minute.

On the Monday before break, Blake had hurried off after class and bought a section of a book store.

Not a book, not a couple books, but an _entire section_ of the book store.

She'd come back to her room, her wives watching her warily as she wheeled in a large cart of parenting books.

"Kit-Kat... I didn't know you went insane," Yang said gently.

"I did. You three drove me insane. Now shut up and read three of these before tomorrow, and take notes."

Yang ducked as Blake threw a few books at her. They hit the wall behind her, making a small crack that moved up the wall slowly.

Yang looked behind her, grimacing.

"Blake, you almost took off my head!" she cried.

"Yeah. Then maybe you wouldn't have any more crazy ideas!" Blake cried, bouncing her leg up and down nervously.

"Okay, maybe this is too much pressure," Yang said nervously.

"Nope! No backing out, right?! Now read the dust damn books," Blake replied, opening one of her own.

"Uh, Blakey, maybe you should stop stressing so much," Ruby said, wrapping her arms around her wife's waist.

"Don't think you're getting out of this. You're reading books too," Blake said, grabbing a book and pushing it against Ruby's chest 

"What?! Why doesn't Angel have to?" Ruby asked.

"Because she's going to be researching the dust, isn't she?" Blake replied, glancing up and giving Weiss a very pointed look.

The former heiress paled and nodded quickly, pulling out her scroll.

"Blake, I think you're taking this way too seriously," Ruby said.

Blake finally glanced away from her book and shook her head, running a hand through her hair.

"Ruby, I know you just want to jump in," Ruby nodded excitedly, "but this is _serious_ , and I want to take this seriously. I don't want to mess this up, and we're far too young to know everything without research! I don't want to mess up their life forever, because I know that they're going to be the most important things in the world to us all, and I don't want to be the reason they aren't happy."

Yang, Ruby, and Weiss stared at her for a moment.

Ruby opened her book and Weiss turned to her scroll for research.

Yang, however, stood and walked across the room, grabbing Blake's face in her hands.

"That's somehow the hottest thing you've ever said. Rubes, move."

Ruby sighed and pulled away from Blake while Yang leaned closer and wrapped her arms around the faunus, falling into her lap and causing the two to go sprawling out on the floor after the chair Blake was sitting in toppled over. Neither seemed to care, and Blake reached her hands up to grab Yang by the waist, pulling her closer

When the two were finished, Blake pushed herself up to a sitting position, raising an eyebrow.

"You're going to read, aren't you?" she asked seriously, making Yang sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry I wanted to make out with my awesome wife."

"You should be," Ruby said, flipping a page in her book, eyes intent as they scoured the page.

"You know what? Yang, why don't you go through the binder Sun gave us instead of reading. That's bound to have a bunch of information," Blake said as she turned to her pile of books, grabbing three and setting them in a neat stack at her side.

The four spent their night researching, something they hadn't done since they were students at Beacon. Turns out the school brings that out in them. Ruby fell asleep face first in her third book, and Blake let out a fond sigh to grab her and pull her over to the bed. They'd researched for the entire night, so Blake guessed that was enough.

-

On Tuesday, the four were silently studying when Weiss had stopped, setting her scroll down.

"What do you three think of Crystal?" she asked.

There was a beat of silence.

"Crystal Belladonna-Schnee," Ruby said gently. "I like it!"

Yang grabbed her sister around the shoulders with a grin.

"Yeah! It's great!" she said.

The three looked to the faunus, who offered them all a small smile.

"How long have you been thinking of that name, Angel?" she asked.

Weiss flushed.

"About five minutes," she said.

All three of her wives stared at her.

"Fine! Fine! I've been thinking about this for about... six months," she said.

Ruby let out a laugh, leaning against Yang and slapping her sister's arm when the blond tried to mess with her hair.

"If we're talking about names we've been thinking about for years, because frankly I don't believe that Ice Queen's only been thinking about this for six months," Yang started, making Weiss glare at her, "then what about Aki or Akio?"

Everyone looked at her.

"It's a boy's name," Yang continued, and they all nodded.

"I like it," Weiss said, smiling at her gently.

"Me too," Blake said softly. "I always thought that Adolpha."

"I like Auburn! Or Ivory!" Ruby said.

Yang laughed, shaking her head.

"Looks like we all had our own ideas. Maybe we should have talked about this earlier..."

"Definitely," Weiss said, shaking her head as she laughed.

Blake rolled her eyes.

"Get back to studying," she said playfully, bumping Weiss' shoulder with her own.

-

On Wednesday, Weiss had finally got all the information that she needed, and she let out a cheer of excitement.

"Okay! I know where to find it! I know!" the former heiress said.

"Where?!" Ruby asked enthusiastically, darting toward Weiss and landing in her lap, wrapping her arms around Weiss' waist.

The former heiress reached her hand up to cover her wife's mouth as she raised the scroll to her ear.

"Hey, yeah, it's me."

A voice on the other end said something that Ruby couldn't quite hear, but sounded sarcastic.

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me. Get me the dust."

Ruby frowned leaning closer in an attempt to hear who it was. Blake rolled her eyes, wondering in human hearing was that bad.

"I said you owe me! Now get it."

A beat of silence in their room.

"Love you, too, you little idiot."

"Your mom?" Yang asked, smirking as she leaned against the bed.

"Close. My brother," Weiss said, rolling her eyes at Yang.

"Ew," Yang replied, grimacing.

"Don't let Oscar hear you say that," Ruby muttered, flipping through her tenth book of the week.

-

On Thursday, Yang almost stages a riot to get out of reading the binder for the third time. Weiss hit her in the face with a pillow, which had ended that.

-

On Friday, Weiss got a small package, which she was a moment from opening, but Yang and Ruby snatched it out of her hands and tore open.

"It's the dust!" Ruby cried excitedly, grabbing the first one and cradling it in her hands.

Yang grabbed the second dust and danced in a circle happily.

"Hey! Don't drop that!" Weiss snapped, snatching both dust pieces out of their hands and putting them in a soft box, which she gently put on the top of a nearby shelf. Blake quietly wondered how her wife had reached that, but she decided not to mention it.

"So when are we going to... use it?" Yang asked, throwing her arms around Weiss' waist and letting out a gentle laugh.

"I guess over the break," she said.

Blake's eyes widened dramatically, and she sucked in a breath, letting it out slowly.

"The break... right, yeah. The break starting next week," the faunus said quietly.

"Yeah!" Ruby cried happily.

"Great..."


	38. What's Wrong

Blake let out a long sigh. Today was the day they were leaving for the winter break... and Blake knew what that meant.

She took a deep breath, glancing at her wives as she walked toward her last day of class.

Ruby's excited skipping... Yang's blinding grin... Weiss' adorable way of trying to hide her enthusiasm that _really_ didn't work...

Blake found herself smiling, sliding her hand into Yang's and threading their fingers together.

Maybe she was stressing out just a **little** too much... after they actually got pregnant, they'd still have nine months to learn about childcare...

Blake smiled broader and wrapped her arm around Weiss' waist.

"I love you all," she said gently.

"Aww, we love you too," Ruby said as she set her head against Weiss' shoulder.

"And maybe I went a little... overboard."

"Maybe?" Yang asked.

"Shut up," Blake said lovingly.

"Ooooh! I wanna be Mommy!" Ruby said happily.

"Wait, we're claiming names now?!" Yang cried.

"Maybe we should decide that later," Blake said, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you'd be a great 'Momma,' Blakey!" Ruby said happily.

Blake laughed quietly, shaking her head.

_Oh my dust I can't believe that this is actually happening. What... what is wrong with us?!_

Yang pulled Blake closer, grabbing her around the waist and starting to twirl her in a circle.

"We're gonna be parents!" she hissed.

Blake found herself grinning as she was set back down on her feet.

_Love. That's what's wrong with us._

As Ruby started to drag Weiss excitedly down the hall, yanking Blake, and by association Yang, along with her, Blake started to laugh.

Two kids would be _fine_ with these four taking care of them.

After all, what couldn't they do together? (Aside from stopping Ruby from running into the wall face first a few seconds later and dragging Weiss down along with her).

**Author's Note:**

> So that's the first chapter of this part. It's short, but I wanted to get it out tomorrow because I will NOT be posting on Easter! See you guys day after tomorrow!


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